


Chronicles of the Exiled: Genesis

by InsanityIsFreedom



Series: Chronicles of the Exiled [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, Anger, BAMF Eren, BAMF levi, Character Death, Child Eren Yeager, Childhood Friends, Crimes & Criminals, Death is everywhere, F/M, Family Loss, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hatred, Killing, Loss, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Revenge, Sappy, Separations, Side Stories, Slight Insanity (but very slight), Slightly Obsessive Relationship, Strong Main Character, Titans, Tough Times, Underground, but only sometimes, teenager Levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-04 09:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 58
Words: 59,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5329118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsanityIsFreedom/pseuds/InsanityIsFreedom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren lives in the small town of Shiganshina, but peace does not suit him and he ventures into the city of criminals: Oz. It is there that he meets Levi with whom he will start a journey towards exile with both Titans and Humanity standing in their way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Disillusioned Child - Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set in the far future. The prologue in italics at the start of the first chapter explains it all. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE STORY.
> 
> I do not own any of the characters except the OCs and do not make any claim to them nor to the setting of the story which is still heavily based on the original work.

_Throughout the_ _twentieth_ _and twenty first century, industries polluted the environment until Earth was no longer hospitable to the human race. During the twenty second century, humanity had to face countless new diseases, most of which came from the inhalation of toxic fumes. Gradually, the air became so polluted that it was no longer possible to breathe without protection. So that one wouldn’t die in a matter of minutes, humans had to wear oxygen masks at all times. Just as the second half of the twenty third century started, humanity came up with a plan to preserve what was left of it. By the time the twenty fourth century began, three cities had been built. Those gigantic buildings, whose purpose was to protect those living inside them, were built in a triangle. Sina had been built against a mountain and was the safest. Roze came next and Maria faced all dangers bravely._

_People did not hesitate to abandon their homes and move inside the walls of the Three Sisters. They had been built in a tower-like shape with three floors in each city. The ground floor was the largest and the poorest. The first floor was smaller and the topmost floor was the smallest of all, as well as the richest. Each floor was divided in districts._

_Social differences were never abolished and were clear in the disposition of the cities. In each city, the ground floor was dedicated to agriculture, the first was where merchants settled and the second was home to the richest people of the city. There was also a difference of population between cities. Maria was poor and the richest inhabitants of Maria were poorer than the poorest of Roze. Roze was in the middle and Sina, which was the city chosen by royalty, was at the top._

_Despite the inequality, humans were glad to live in the Walls. They had a fake sky over their heads, clean water to drink and fresh air to breathe. But this came with a price. Humanity had given their freedom in order to survive, for no one could leave the Walls. The cities were Cages._

_There was only a handful of people allowed to leave the Walls. They were a part of the Military Force, a group called the Survey Corp. They were soldiers and scientists who were specially equipped to leave on journeys outside the Cages in order to bring back information and data on the world outside. But it was common knowledge that not many came back from those trips, though few knew why._

* * *

 

As a young man, Grisha Jaeger had been considered smarter than most and had been gifted with an insatiable curiosity for the world beyond the walls. He studied in Sina and became an accomplished scientist and doctor. He had had a bright future ahead of him, as one of the elite of Sina but he cast it all away in favour of enrolling in the Military and eventually joining the Survey Corp. During his time as a soldier he learned many secrets and developed many fears. He was thirty when he left the Survey Corp. With the weight of the knowledge he had acquired on his shoulders he sought to start anew and thus left the prosper Sina for the fertile Maria.

He settled in the modest Shiganshina district as the local doctor. Thanks to his position he became quickly acquainted with the villagers and their ways. The simplicity of their lives was new to him who had spent the majority of his life amongst nobles or in the soldiers’ barracks. He liked it though. It enabled him to momentarily forget about the intensity of the past years, the secrets, the suffering, everything. Instead he worried about what he should make for dinner, what the weather would be like tomorrow and all those things which worrying over might appear meaningless but were to him a luxury.

Amongst his regular patients was Mr Arlert. The old man despite nearing the seventies, was in perfect health and as he wanted to remain so, he went to consult regularly. Of course, it would be a waste to go all the way to the doctor’s and not have a nice chat with the man in question. The two men soon became good friends and were to remain so for many years to come.

Grisha met Carla three months after his arrival. She was younger than him by four years and didn’t have any particular health issues. When she first came to him, it was to mend her arm, which she had broken after a rather spectacular fall down the stairs. While Grisha was busying himself over the young woman’s arm, she filled the silence with polite conversation. As he listened to her speak casually despite her pain, Grisha came to the conclusion that she was a strong woman. He found himself admiring that strength and suddenly paid greater attention to her. He found her long brown hair tied back in a practical tail, lovely. Her brown eyes exuded warmth and even her calloused hands only served to make her more beautiful.

He could not say exactly when he had fallen in love with Carla but he found himself looking forward to seeing her calm smile as she entered his office. When no one else was waiting to see him, he would take more time than needed to examine her arm so that he could be with her a few minutes longer. More often than not they would talk for a while after he had finished examining her.

On the day he announced her arm was completely healed, he asked her to marry him. She smiled gently and nodded. Their wedding was a happy one. Though the ceremony had been modest, a lot of Grisha’s patients had come to give their congratulations to the couple and the atmosphere was thus quite merry. After their marriage, Grisha and Carla moved into a small white house near the doctor’s office.

A year later, Carla gave birth to their first child. As he held the small brown haired boy in his arms Grisha felt certain that his decision to leave the Survey Corp had been right. When the new-born opened his blue-green eyes and gave a delisted cry, Grisha forgot all about the military and focused on the happiness he felt gazing at his small family.

***

Baby Eren had been replaced by a healthy four year old when the epidemic broke out in Maria’s lower floors. Grisha was busier than ever before as he had to tend to countless sick people from early morning to very late at night. Taking care of Eren was entrusted to Carla who went about the situation in her usual calm demeanour. She kept a close watch on her child and seldom let him out of the house. Though she did not show it, she feared the mysterious disease that plagued the neighbouring districts as well as their own. Fortunately, Eren was a rather understanding child and didn’t make any attempt at leaving the house on his own. Instead, he spent hours watching out the window, looking fixedly upwards, nose practically touching the glass. Unbeknownst to his mother Eren was watching out for birds. The winged animals had become quite rare after humanity had come in the Cages. Eren had only ever seen one: a completely black bird who had given a nostalgic caw before extending his wings and flying off in the fake sky. Eren had kept an eye out for birds ever since.

One evening, as the little family was sitting at the table eating dinner, loud banging came from the door. Grisha was immediately on his feet. He opened the door and exchanged a few quick sentences with the visitor. He then grabbed his coat and went to kiss his frowning wife’s cheek.

“Hannes’ wife has fallen ill.” He told her simply before disappearing into the night banging the door shut behind him.

Carla stayed still for a moment before turning away from the door and chasing the worry away from her eyes.

“Well, let’s finish eating without Dad then.” She told her son lightly.

Eren nodded gravely which made his mother smile. The little boy was not very talkative. He seldom spoke but when he did he sounded older. She knew that while he didn’t communicate much he was always very attentive to what was said and what was not. He was often deep in thoughts and sometimes he would ask a question about how the world worked. Carla was very proud of how intelligent her son was.

In the days that followed, Grisha was rarely home. He spent hours tending to Hannes’ wife and when he came home he would be pale and visibly drained of energy. He would look feverishly at his wife and son, a deep fear in his gaze. Carla, as any dutiful wife, would gently make him sit at the table and serve him dinner. Once he was done eating she sent to wash and sleep.

This carried on for nearly two weeks, until Grisha came home one evening announcing that Hannes’ wife was better. He didn’t look as happy as one could have expected. He was ashen-faced and had bags under his eyes. Though he smiled when his wife applauded his success and rejoiced at her the woman’s good health, he appeared more worried than ever.

Soon after, the epidemic ended and Dr Jaeger started a mysterious research which would often lead him to Roze and Sina for days on end. Carla, if she was unhappy about her husband’s absences, didn’t show it. She continued raising her son as she always had, never complaining and never faltering.


	2. Disillusioned Child - Part 2

Eren was sitting in his favorite spot by the small canal in the Northern part of the town. The boy was feeling rather bored. He had spent the last months getting re-acquainted with the town after being forced to stay at home the previous year. After all traces of the epidemic had gone, his mother had finally allowed him to venture outside the house. He had thus explored every street of the small town until he knew his way around better than anybody else. Now, though, there was nothing for him to do anymore. If his mother let him run around the town as he pleased she had set the limits there. He wasn’t allowed to go any further than the last house on each side of the town. She had promised that when he was a bit older he would be able to go as far as the woods on the East. The South was eternally closed to him though. His mother had told him that it was a place of great evil in which he should never venture.

He picked up a pebble and threw it lazily in the water.

A group of children ran by on the other side of the canal, laughing and cheering. The brown haired boy watched them go longingly. He wouldn’t be so bored if he had friends with whom he could play. But the other children disliked him. They would make fun of him and call him names, then they would shout ‘monster’ at him and run away squealing and laughing. It was because of his eyes. Even though Carla and the grown-ups always told him he had very beautiful eyes, the other children were scared of them. A girl who lived in his neighborhood had told him once that it was creepy how the color of his eyes kept changing. Normally his eyes were turquoise, not quite blue but not quite green either, but when he was sad they would become greener and when he was angry they turned to a shade of gold.

He couldn’t help it, couldn’t control it, so he was alone. He noticed a pebble by his foot and kicked it. He watched as the little piece of stone rolled all the way into the water.

Sea green eyes turned to the fake sky over head. He had learned recently that the sky he could see was in fact no more than a giant screen showing pictures of the real sky. His father had started teaching him about the world when he wasn’t away on business. Eren loved learning about the world. Especially the one beyond the walls. Unfortunately, Grisha was away most of the time so Eren didn’t know much yet. Being the impatient little boy he was, Eren had decided that if Grisha wasn’t there to teach him, he would teach himself. So he had started learning how to read in the hope that he could read about the outside world in his father’s books. Every night he sat at the dinner table with his mother and struggled with the letters, trying to make sense of the lines of signs of the worn pages. He wasn’t very good at it but he was becoming better every day. It was just a matter of time until he could read the books.

His eyes shone turquoise with his new found resolve.

He got up to his feet, deciding that since nothing else to do he might as well practice his reading. His mother would be busy with chores but he could start on his own and try to decipher a few lines. It couldn’t hurt to at least try.

He turned his back on the canal and started walking towards his house. He decided to avoid the town center which would be crowded as it was a market day. Going round it was a bit longer but at least he wouldn’t be pushed around by the shoppers.

He was halfway to his house when he saw a group of children. He stopped in his track analyzing the situation from a distance. A blonde boy which seemed to be his age was circled by a group of children that he knew well enough. He had run into them a few times only to be mocked and insulted. The group was composed of older boys and girls who liked to ‘act tough’ as Mr. Hannes liked to say. Eren didn’t really like them and the feeling was visibly mutual.

The blue-green eyes fixed themselves on the blue eyed boy who had been pushed against a wall. He seemed terrified. His face was bent down, so that his long blond hair hid his expression from view, but the way he clutched his book to his chest until his fingers became white showed that he was scared. Eren wouldn’t be surprised to see tears running down the blonde’s cheeks.

The other children were wearing scornful expressions and though he couldn’t hear them, the brown haired boy knew their words were not kind.

When the biggest boy of the group raised his fist to hit the smallish blonde, Eren ran forward without thinking.

“Stop it!” he shouted.

He successfully caught the bullies’ attention as they all looked up to look at him. The blonde boy also looked up, his wide with surprise and hope.

“It’s Eren.” said one of the girls.

Her vice had held much disgust but Eren could tell that behind the brave front there was a hint of fear. Not that Eren was especially powerful but the other children were so unsettled by his eyes that there had been rumors he was able to use magic. The stupid girl probably believed those.

“What do you want?” spat the boy whose fist was still raised menacingly.

“Leave him alone.” snapped Eren as he stopped in front of them.

His turquoise eyes were flashing brightly as he held the older boy’s gaze. Some of the children started squirming under the intensity of his gaze. The boy who had been threatening the blonde child and who seemed to be the leader stepped towards Eren.

“Why should I listen to you?” he asked with bravado.

Eren didn’t answer opting for continuing to glare at him. The silent treatment didn’t please the taller boy and he growled angrily as he raised his fist once again. This time there was no one to stop him and his fist made contact with Eren’s cheek. The impact made the brown haired boy stumble backwards and he fell to the ground. For a moment his eyes were hidden behind his brown locks. When he straightened himself to glare at the one who had hit him, his eyes had taken a golden color. One of the girls shrieked and the other started coaxing their leader to stop there for the day.

The tall boy finally turned away with reluctance and followed his group as they hurried away.

Eren didn’t move from where he sat, on the stone pavement, until the group had disappeared at the corner.

“A-Are you all right?” asked a shaky voice on his left.

He turned his head to the side and gazed at the blonde boy who had been pushed against the wall. The shorter boy had left his spot and come to stand by his side, even extending his hand to help Eren up.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” he said grabbing the blonde’s hand and heaving himself up.

“Th-Thanks for helping me.” added the shorter boy, his voice still shaky.

“No problem. I’m Eren, what’s your name?”

“Armin. Armin Arlert.” replied the blonde relaxing a little bit. “I just moved here to live with my grandfather.”

“I see. I take it you don’t know the town very well, yet. Would you like me to show you around?” asked Eren, hope shining in his turquoise eyes.

The blonde opened eyes as wide as saucepans before beaming at the brown haired boy.

“I would love that!” he exclaimed enthusiastically.

The bright smile on Armin’s face warmed Eren’s heart and he smiled back.

As the two of them started walking away chatting animatedly, Eren felt a part of himself become giddy with happiness at the idea that he had just made his first ever friend. However another, admittedly smaller part was growing darker. Anger and pain mixed to form a dark determination. _I’ll become stronger, a lot stronger, and then…_


	3. Disillusioned Child - Part 3

In just about three months, Eren and Armin had become inseparable. It hadn’t taken long after their first meeting, for Eren to realize that Armin was a very smart child. The blonde’s grandfather had been a teacher before he retired and was very knowledgeable. Before he met the old man, Eren never knew about the ‘schools’ in which children from Roze and Sina learned how to read, write and a lot of other useful things. There were no such things in Maria as people were too poor to invest in their children’s education. Schooling was done by the parents, tutors when the parents could afford it or, in most cases, not at all. Eren himself had learnt a little through his father but was mostly ignorant as the man was rarely there.

Upon Eren’s request the old man had agreed to teach the two boys when Grisha wasn’t there. Thanks to Mr. Arlert’s patient tutoring, Eren’s reading improved drastically in just a few months. Armin who already knew how to read also helped him. Once Eren was able to read sufficiently well, they had moved on to writing and calculations. If writing was going well, calculating wasn’t Eren’s forte. Armin who seemed at ease with any exercise Mr. Arlert gave them was doing very well in it. However, being useless with numbers didn’t bother Eren in the least for what he was truly interested in was history. He loved learning about the world before the walls the most. He would listen to Mr. Arlert’s stories of the past completely enraptured.

Armin shared his interest in the outside world and the two of them would spend long hours talking about the mysteries of the world beyond. Often they would sit by the canal and talk about the ‘seas’ and ‘oceans’ Mr. Arlert had told them about. From what the old man had said they were wide surfaces covered in salty water. Though neither boy knew what salt tasted like, spices being generally very expensive, they agreed that such things as ‘seas’ and ‘oceans’ were extremely impressive. They also dreamt of the ‘mountains’, which were supposed to be giant piles of rock, some of them even having liquid fire inside of them. What fascinated Eren the most was the sky. The old teacher had told him that the sky outside was endless.

A sky without end proved to be difficult to imagine for the turquoise eyed child. He was so used to the sky being the end that he couldn’t imagine what it could be like for a sky to be more than a ceiling. What he did understand was that birds outside could fly forever unlike inside the walls where they eventually bumped in the screen. Eren had seen them do so a few times and for reasons unknown he had felt a pang in his chest as it happened.

Nearing the end of the hot season, Mr. Arlert suggested they go on a field trip. The brown haired boy had been very excited at the prospect of visiting the woods for the first time. He had asked his mother for permission, ready to plead if he had to do. As it turned out, Carla was all too happy to let him go with the Arlerts.

The woman was an old friend of old Mr. Arlert’s as he was a regular patient of her husband and a good friend to the Jaeger couple. She had loved Armin the moment she set eyes on him and regarded his friendship with her Eren as the best thing that could have happened. Therefore she saw no reason to refuse and even offered to pack lunch for the three adventurers.

When the day of the excursion finally arrived, Eren took the bag of food his mother had prepared and set off to meet the Arlerts. He set off to the meeting point, which was located in the easternmost part of the town. He got there early and sat on the roadside to wait. He lifted his head upwards to look at ‘sky’, which despite being fake was still very pretty. After a while, a black bird flew by as close to the ceiling as he could possibly get. He wasn’t very fast, but there were strength in the way his wings beat and it made him look majestic somehow. The bird swooped down and disappeared from sigh, leaving the boy awed.

He was still smiling when Armin and his grandfather joined him.

***

Throughout the morning, the two boys got to discover the forest and its inhabitants. Mr. Arlert taught them the differences between trees and how to recognize them by the shape of their leaves. They found a lot of plants they had never seen before and the old teacher names each of them sometimes telling how they could be used for medication or to make colours. They got to see a few animals as well. A pair of rabbits crossed the forest path at top speed in front of them. The two boys were amazed by the white herbivores and tried running after them to no avail. The incident made Armin’s grandfather laugh good-naturedly and when the boys came back to him, he guided them deeper in the woods.

They were lucky to find some animal prints along the way. Eren and Armin thus learned how animals had different patterns on their paws and how one could tell a bunch of different things from footprints.

It turned out that Eren was the one who found it easier to tell trees and plants apart. He also seemed to have a natural talent for following tracks and even managed to find a group of squirrels who ran back up the trees as soon as they saw them. Armin found it harder and soon conceded defeat.

When their stomachs started complaining they settled in a clearing and took out the food packed by Carla. The meal was mostly silent as they were all intent on eating the delicious sandwiches made by Eren’s mother. Once they were done eating, Mr. Arlert told them he was going to rest for a little and that they should go and explore some more before going back in town.

The two boys were quite happy with the suggestion and lost no time in leaving the clearing. They walked with no real destination, careful to remember which way they came from.

They had been walking for approximately half an hour when the trees started becoming rarer. A few minutes later they stepped out of the forest and found themselves on top of a hill.

Below was a city that Eren had never seen before. Even from a distance he could tell that it was dirty and dark unlike Shiganshina. He couldn’t see many people. Despite the dark atmosphere surrounding the place, Eren felt attracted to it. It was mysterious, it was unknown and he wanted to go there. The dark streets and cloaked figures he could vaguely see called to him with a force he would never have expected.

“Hey, what do you think this place is?” he asked his friend softly, as if afraid to disturb the gloomy silence.

Hearing no answer he turned around only to see Armin’s anxious expression visible desire to get away from the place.

“This is Oz. My grandfather told me a little about it.” said the blonde in a hushed voice.

“Oz?”

Armin nodded.

“It’s real name is Outlaw Zone but people just call it Oz. It’s a place where laws don’t apply.” he looked around fearfully. “It’s a place for criminals.” he finished in a whisper.

“Oz.” repeated Eren eyes shining with curiosity as he looked back to the dark city.

“Come on, Eren. We shouldn’t be here and Grandpa will be waiting for us.”

The blue eyed blonde grabbed his best friend’s arm and dragged him back into the forest. The taller boy let himself be pulled away but gave one last glance at Oz before leaving.


	4. Into the Darkness - Part 1

_"I’m moving.”_

_The brunette gazed away from the water to look at his blonde friend sitting next to him by the canal._

_“What do you mean?” he asked his dark green eyes showing his worry._

_The blue eyed child grimaced._

_“Mom found a job but it’s in the middle floor.” explained the blonde. “She doesn’t want to impose on Grandpa so she’s taking me with her.”_

_The blonde’s gaze was avoiding his own and the brunette soon went back to silently staring at the shallow water. Billions of thoughts were racing in the boy’s head but he couldn’t bring himself to formulate any of them. The silence was becoming heavy. He opened his mouth, hesitated still._

_“So…so…When are you leaving?” he ended up asking._

_The blonde’s shoulders sank._

_“Tomorrow.” he replied in a whisper._

_He didn’t need to look to know that the green eyes were looking at him, horrified._

_It was too soon. It would always be too soon._

***

As usual Eren sat by the canal. Unusually, he was alone. Armin had left the previous day. In the morning he had gotten up early to say his goodbyes. He had done his best to be cheerful when sending Armin off. His best friend had been devastated, of course, but at least Eren’s smile had given him some confidence. They had promised to see each other again. They wouldn’t be able to keep in touch because paper was expensive but Armin would come to visit.

As soon as Armin and his mother had left, Eren’s smile had disappeared. With his friend gone he felt like he had gone back to step one. It would be like two years ago all over again. He would be all alone with other children making fun of him. He felt empty.

So here he was, alone by the canal, sitting in his and Armin’s favourite spot, reminiscing about their two year long friendship. In those two years he had mastered reading and the basics of calculation. He had learned a lot about humanity’s history, as well, which was by far his favourite. Mr. Arlert had brought him and Armin into the forest a few more times, teaching all he knew about it. Eren had even learned first aid from his father and he prided himself in being very good at bandaging. Not that he made use of that particular skill but he felt confident that it would come in handy in the future. After all, accidents happened all the time.

All in all, it had been two very enjoyable years.

Unfortunately that time was gone. Now he would have to cope with being alone.

Absent-mindedly he picked up a pebble and threw in the water. Out of habit he watched it sink before looking up at the sky. It was as blue, with a few clouds here and there, as it had been the day before and the day before that. In fact it had been like that during the entirety of the hot season apart from the days where they had scheduled rain.

He sighed and got up to his feet. He stood unmoving for a moment trying to decide where to go.

A memory suddenly flashed before his eyes. A dark city with a gloomy atmosphere, Oz. He had secretly gone back to sneak peeks at it ever since the day he had first stumbled upon it with Armin. He never told Armin or anyone else for that matter about those excursions. The blonde wouldn’t have approved and might even have told one of the adults. As much as Armin was a very trustworthy friend, he was also someone who put safety above anything else. It wasn’t that he would betray Eren’s trust it was just that he would what he thought was best for his turquoise eyed friend.

Of course, Eren wasn’t stupid. He knew he could get in a lot of trouble by going to watch Oz. And not just with his mother. No. Oz was a city where all sorts of criminals had settled. They were so numerous that the Military Police didn’t dare raid it anymore. In fact, it was infamous in all three Sisters for being the most dangerous place inside the walls. It was the centre of illegal activities in humanity’s stronghold.

For a childlike Eren it was especially dangerous. In a moment he could be kidnapped and sold as a slave or prostitute to some rich noble from Sina or simply killed for the clothes he was wearing.

Eren knew all that but couldn’t help but be attracted to the ruthless city. Whenever he got close to it, his heart would beat faster, his blood would boil and he would feel a thrill he could only feel near Oz. He had become addicted to that feeling, that pure excitement which made him feel like he could do anything. In the back of his mind, Eren knew that this feeling too was dangerous. But most of the time, he conveniently ignored that little voice.

The closer he got to the edge of Shiganshina, the faster he walked. When he finally reached the last house he started running. He wasn’t afraid that anyone would report him to his mother as Carla had given him a formal authorization to go into the forest on his own. The brunette’s mother knew her boy and she had heard from Armin’s grandfather that Eren was entirely capable of taking care of himself. Especially since he had come to know the woods as well as he knew the streets of Shiganshina.

In a matter of minutes he had passed the first trees and was racing in the forest. He was fast on his legs. He had grown quite a bit and longer legs did help, but above all he had gotten a lot of training. He had a knack of running into trouble and had had to fight and run away a lot. He specialized in the hit-and-run strategy. Basically he would distract his opponent by hitting him, and then while the person was in shock from the hit, he would run away as fast as possible. After some time he had become so fast that nobody could catch up to him.

His pulse accelerated as he reached the hill overseeing the Outlaw Zone. He slowed down and walked right up to the top of the hill. He watched the city below with sparkling blue eyes. It was as obscure and eerily silent as he remembered.

The brunette felt a tug in his chest. He WANTED to go there; every fibre of his being was urging him to move forward. However a part of his mind recalled his mother’s warnings and Armin’s words.

_“It is a place of great evil, Eren, you must never get close to it.”_

_“It’s a place for criminals. We shouldn’t be here.”_

_“Entering the Outlaw Zone is the same as selling your soul to the Devil! Once it is done you can never go back.”_

_“It’s a bad place Eren, children like us would get sold or killed…”_

_“Eren, you must promise Mother that you will NEVER, ever go to that place!”_

_Sorry Mom_ , thought Eren as he took his first step down the hill, _I would rather sell my soul to the devil than live like livestock_.

***

As he neared the first buildings he made himself as small and insignificant as possible. He had done so many times before in Shiganshina that it was almost second nature, but his heart had never beaten so fast. When he reached the streets he was feeling exhilarated and it took everything he had to stop himself from laughing. He couldn’t help the wide grin spreading on his face though.

As it was the first day he went, Eren didn’t dare go too far in the city. He wouldn’t admit it to himself but he felt quite impressed by the state deterioration the buildings were in. He sneaked up to a dark corner and sat there so as to observe.

The first thing that struck him was that even when there were a lot of people in the street, it still seemed deserted. People clad in dark outfits hurried by silently, without so much as glancing in his direction. Sometimes he would be able to see the gleam of a knife, or short sword under the cloaks. Twice, the young boy saw duos of hooded figures whispering secretively in a distant corner or dark alley, the first time exchanging tightly wrapped packets of God-Knew-What. Eren instantly decide that he didn’t want to know and that it was better to keep his distance with such people.

After an hour or so, sitting in his hiding place, Eren decided to explore a bit further. He got up and slipped away, keeping in the shadows. As he moved around the narrow streets, he realized that, if there were a few shady individuals here and there, there weren’t a lot of people. At least not a lot compared to what one would expect from the centre of illegal activities of the Three Sisters.

The brunette stopped in a dark corner and frowned. From what Armin had told him, Oz was an overpopulated city. There was even a black market there. Yet, he could see no trace of gathering and had met just enough people for him to know that the city wasn’t deserted.

A glance at the darkening sky told him that it was too late to solve the mystery. He slipped out of the corner and hurried away towards the hill. He was smiling as he left Oz and his turquoise eyes shone with determination. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t solved the puzzle yet, he still had tomorrow and the day after as well. In fact, he had all the time in the world.


	5. Into the Darkness - Part 2

Turquoise eyes peeked from behind a thick stone wall. The brunette’s gaze darted from side to side before he allowed himself to approach the dark entrance. He silently walked closer to the staircases which descended under the city and carefully looked inside. A smile graced his features. He had finally found it.

It had been two weeks since he started exploring Oz. Ever since his first day in the half-ruined city he had been looking for its secret. The reason why there weren’t that many people roaming the streets and why there never were any trace of a black market. It had taken him a whole week to get to know the entire city. But at the end of the seventh day he had seen every street there was to see and discovered all the good hiding places. This had been quite useful to him during the second week. If he had managed to avoid trouble most of the time, he had had to run away from shady individuals a few times. He had always succeeded in escaping though, so there hadn’t been any harm done.

When he had gotten back home after the first time he had had to flee from a dangerous-looking man, he had thought of stealing a knife from the kitchen to carry around in case he got in some serious trouble. He had thought long and hard and had finally decided against it. The main reason being that his mother had but a few knives and if one were to go missing she would notice immediately. As his father was away at the moment, it would easy to determine who the culprit was and there would be questions asked. Questions he couldn’t answer, unless he was prepared to be kept at home his entire life, which he wasn’t.

So he remained weaponless, his last thought on the matter being that if he was careful enough he wouldn’t need a weapon anyway.

His second week had started with this new resolve in mind. Being accustomed to the streets, he had no trouble finding his way around. The only trouble was that he had no idea where to look. For obvious reasons he couldn’t ask anyone either. He had to find the answer by himself and while he enjoyed the challenge, the first few days being infructuous frustrated him. It was in the second half of the week that he had an idea.

He could simply watch the cloaked figures, follow them if needed and find out where they went.

Thus he enacted his plan, discreetly following people. His first targets brought him no answers but after a while he got lucky.

He had been following a bald man with an intimidating scar running across his face. Eren had kept his distance not wanting to be caught by the scary-looking man. After about ten minutes, the man turned at a corner. This particular street, Eren knew, was dead end, so the boy was rather puzzled when after a few minutes of waiting for the man to reappear he saw nothing. Carefully he had made his way to the narrow street and sneaked a peek.

All that he had seen was an empty street. He had walked in, examining every nook and cranny. At the time he hadn’t paid any attention to the beat up door behind which was a stone staircase. He had thought it led to a basement.

Finding no answer, he had left the mystery unsolved.

He started having his suspicions when the same day a cloaked figure went in yet another dead end and disappeared like the first man. The third time Eren’s target turned into a blind alley he was prepared. He rushed forward and got there just in time to see the woman opening a door and going down a stone staircase.

After that, Eren had gone back to the two other places where he had seen people disappear and had checked for similar staircases. He had found them, of course. He had spent the following day exploring all dead ends he knew of and checking which ones had the passages.

And today, was the day he went down the stairs and solved the secret of Oz.

With excitement rushing through him, Eren took the first step down the passage. It was cold and dark and he shivered a little bit. Because of the cold of course, he wasn’t afraid of the dark. At least that was what his nervous mind repeated to itself all the way down.

At long last he got to the bottom of the stairs. He found himself in a cave-like place. It was eerily silent and just as dark as the staircase had been. Summoning all the courage he held in his small body, he started walking towards the other side of the room, where he could faintly see light. His steps echoed in the emptiness and unsettled him. He gulped and walked the remaining distance separating him from the light.

The passage curved and opened on a new set of stairs except this time it wasn’t dark or silent. As he gazed at the bustling city, Eren instantly knew that this was the real Oz. It wasn’t the gloomy ruin but this bright and animated city, where puddles of blood and beggars could be found every few steps. The streets were crowded and fights erupted here and there.

He realized that this city must be built underneath the one he had been exploring, which explained why he hadn’t seen so many people before. As the thought hit him, he looked up to the ceiling, wondering where the light came from. It turned out that holes had been pierced all over the ceiling and in the distance light poured from a gigantic crack in the ceiling. The smaller holes were probably the many wells that he had seen in the ruined city above. As for the crack, it was quite mysterious…

Unless this place was actually a lot farther from the city he had seen. If the underground city was located a little more to the West than the ruin then the crack could be on the side of the city that Eren had never seen. After all he had never gone further than the last houses in the Western part of the ruin. Satisfied with the answer, he brought his gaze back to the busy streets. He grinned to himself and hurried down the three steps separating him from the streets.

***

It turned out that the black market was the safest place in Oz. It was by far the busiest and the only place where you could find people who were a little decent. Indeed some of those who visited the market were simply too poor to buy things at the legal price and were not altogether bad people. Also only legal products were sold at the black market, they were simply sold cheaper than the legal price.

The truly illegal businesses took place in a different part of Oz, where whores filled the streets and drug addicts were passed out on the floor. Not a place Eren was prepared to explore anytime soon.

Eren felt rather proud of himself when he realized that his speed was on par with that of the thieves which gathered in the market and targeted the customers and merchants. Those were mostly children sometimes smaller than Eren, dirty and wearing rags. It was looking at those children that Eren realized that he was privileged despite his family being quite poor. At least he still had a family to talk about. These children clearly didn’t.

He went to hang out in Oz every day. Sometimes he just observed but other times he purposefully got into fights, mostly with other children. He steered clear of fights he knew he couldn’t win though, fleeing whenever the situation became dangerous. He might be hot-headed but he did have a certain survival instinct.

Everytime he climbed back up the stairs and went back to Shiganshina he felt like he became another person. He wasn’t the brash, rebellious and violent kid he was in Oz, he was a silent lonely child who behaved well and didn’t cause trouble for his mother. Sometimes he wondered if he was actually two very different people. Though he always came to the conclusion that there was only one Eren, the other was simply a mask he wore.


	6. Into the Darkness - Part 3

It was the first day of the rainy season when Eren first met him. As far as he had been concerned it had been a normal day. He had left Shiganshina in the morning, setting off for Oz as soon as he decently could. He had spent his morning in the more peaceful parts of the city, eaten the sandwich his mother had made for his lunch and gone to hang out near the black market. In short just a regular day in Oz.

Anyway, he had been sitting on a doorstep in the middle of the street where the market took place, lazily looking at the crowd and keeping his ears open just in case. An hour passed by without anything remotely interesting happening. That was, if you didn’t count a murder as something interesting. Then again murders happened every day in Oz. The one Eren had just witnessed wasn’t anything extraordinary. A fight had broken out between two shoppers, daggers had been unsheathed and one of them had ended up stuck in a chest.

The whole affair had only attracted a few bored looks but no one tried to stop the two men from fighting. Once the deed was done, the surviving fighter left with a disgusted look to the body, which was promptly dragged off by cloaked figures. Eren didn’t even want to know what they did with the corpses.

It had all been over in twenty minutes and business had gone on as if nothing had ever happen.

Starting to get bored, Eren looked up. It was more out of habit than out of desire to see the sky since all he could see was the rock ceiling. Just as his blue gaze settled on the stone surface a figure dashed overhead. The turquoise eyes widened in shock and he hurriedly turned to follow the movements. It was a man, wearing a dark brown cape and metal boxes hanging on either side of his waist. Eren recognized the gear as the one used by the Military Police and the Garrison. Twin steel cables shot out of the man’s gear and he continued rushing forward. To the child’s eyes it looked as if the he was flying.

When the man disappeared behind buildings, Eren hastily closed his eyes to engrave his features in his memory. Pale skin, delicate features, black hair styled in an undercut. The brunette re-opened his eyes and gazed at the place where the man had disappeared. The scene replayed in his eyes endlessly and he could hardly believe what he had seen. A man had flown. Appearing freer than any bird Eren had ever laid eyes on. As he got to his feet, stumbling a little as he did, the boy could feel admiration and longing gripping his heart, until it was all he could think about.

_If it’s him, it’s possible. He could free himself from these cages._

***

From that day on, Eren started roaming the streets of Oz in search of that man. It wasn’t that he particularly wanted to talk to him or join him, he simply hoped to see him, even a glimpse of the man’s short dark hair would be enough. But he wanted to see that man again, the one he had come to think as the incarnation of freedom.

The brunette had not given much thought to what he would do or say when he finally found the man. In fact, he didn’t really think he would ever find him. He felt like he was chasing a dream, he was looking without any hope of being successful.

The boy was so busy thinking about the raven haired man that he didn’t notice the three men closing in on him.

“Hey kid.” drawled the first man.

Eren snapped out of his musings. His eyes darted back and forth trying to find an escape route.

He had messed up. He had caught the attention of people who would not hesitate to kidnap a child to sell him into slavery. Or maybe they were going to kill him, maybe rape him before that if they were into that kind of thing…

Honestly, he should have known better than to walk aimlessly with a dazed look on his face.

“Won’t you come with us quietly?” asked another of the trio. “It would be a pity to damage that pretty face of yours.”

The brunette clenched his teeth, glaring turquoise daggers at the man in front of him, which only served to make said man laugh.

The trio was slowly advancing on him, not letting him any occasion to escape. When the first man grabbed Eren’s arm, the boy viciously bit him, using the momentum to try to get passed him. He didn’t go very far as the second man grabbed him by the collar, throwing him angrily to the ground.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he yelled, eyes blazing in fury.

Eren didn’t reply. Ignoring the pain in his limbs, he crawled backwards, putting as much distance as he could between him and the three men. He knew he wouldn’t get very far, but at least now he had a global view of the situation. Not that it would help him if he couldn’t even move.

His helplessness angered him, causing his eyes to blaze golden. The men didn’t take any notice and advanced on the fallen boy. At this point Eren could do nothing but scowl and glare, while waiting for the fateful moment. So he did.

Except the fateful moment never came. One second, a hand was approaching him, the next the man was sent flying by a powerful kick.

It was as if he was watching a dream unraveling in front of him, as the now turquoise eyes watched the trio be mercilessly beaten up by none other than the raven haired man whom he had been looking for in the first place. It seemed to last an eternity to Eren as he brain had virtually stopped functioning. In fact, it was a matter of seconds before the men were lying on the floor unconscious.

“Shut your trap, brat, you look stupid.” said the raven haired man harshly.

Eren realized he had been gaping and hastily shut his mouth, blushing slightly.

Still unable to formulate a word, he gazed at his savior. He was younger than he had first thought. He wasn’t so much of a man as a teenager. He was also shorter than Eren would ever have imagined. Cold gray eyes met turquoise and Eren gulped. This guy, was strong. Strong and scary.

“Oy, can’t you talk?” snapped the raven haired man.

Eren blinked in surprise.

“A-Ah…Yes, I can.” he said quickly. “Er…what’s your name?”

The boy looked at him strangely.

“Brat, why the hell should I tell you my name?”

“Er…right.”

Damn that guy was a tough nut, not only was he rude he was also well-guarded.

“Um…Thanks for helping me.” said Eren at last, feeing like it was the first sensible thing he had said in front of the raven.

“Tch. Shitty Brat.”

The boy turned away and started walking off but was stopped by Eren grabbing his sleeve.

“Wait.” the boy’s eyes were flashing turquoise, as he spoke. “My name is Eren, not ‘Brat’ and not ‘Shitty Brat’.”

The man looked back at him expressionless, save for a flash in his eyes of…amusement?

“Whatever, Brat.” he said, snatching his sleeve away from the boy’s grasp and marching off.

“It’s Eren!” called the brunette after him.

Unknown to him, the raven’s lips quirked upwards.

 


	7. Days of Light - Part 1

Isabelle Magnolia was in no way reckless. Really, she wasn’t. It was just that, by odd and generally unexpected twists of fate, she found herself plunging head first into tricky situations.

For example, when she had set out that morning to earn a living she hadn’t planned to steal from a group of beefy, tough-looking guys who looked like they murdered children every day. Which they probably did. She wouldn’t be surprised if they had a habit of killing babes in their cradles. When you lived in Oz you got to encounter all kind of people. Shady people that was, with strange interests and hobbies.

Anyway, she really hadn’t meant to take their money. It just happened. One moment she caught sight of the fat pouch dangling from a belt. The next, the pouch was in her pocket and she was trapped against the wall by four nasty looking individuals. Now, she would be the first to admit that her tendency to land herself into danger without meaning to was risky, not to mention annoying; especially after she had first received her elder brother’s ‘firm talking-to’ which involved a good fifteen minutes of being lectured and a few blows that _really_ hurt. The longest fifteen minutes of her life.

Needless to say she was seriously reflecting on her actions; her eyes darting around frantically looking for an escape route, all the while. Unfortunately for the red haired girl, the four men were effectively blocking her way. She shrunk under their gaze which only served to make them laugh.

They wanted their money back. Of course they did. But she couldn’t hand over the pouch. For one thing she wouldn’t get away with it even if she gave them the purse back. Secondly she _needed_ the money. _They_ needed it. There was enough in the leather pouch to buy dinner for the day and breakfast for the following morning. It would still be meager meals but it was better than starving. Admittedly, her big brother would never let them starve. He always found food for them one way or another. But it was hardly fair to always rely on him. They couldn’t expect him to feed them all on his own.

No. She couldn’t, _wouldn’t_ give the money back.

She tried not to shiver when one of them suggested they had some ‘fun’ with her. The man’s comrades seemed to think it was a great idea and they started closing in on her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to watch the hands that were reaching for her. She was starting to regret her stubbornness, just a bit. She might live in a cut-throat and have been trained by her brother to fight but she was still first and foremost a fragile girl. Despite her brother’s efforts she was still not that strong, and certainly not skilled enough to take on four of these guys and get away alive.

Not that it helped that the alternative was losing her virginity after she had managed to keep it for that long. Being a virgin in Oz was near impossible and Isabelle prided herself in never having been forced into anything up until now. Well, she guessed she wouldn’t be able to be proud of it for much longer.

“Brother? What are you doing?” asked a childish voice she didn’t recognize.

Her eyes flew open and widened as she gazed at the small brown haired boy standing a few meters away. He had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen; even more beautiful than her own green eyes.

“You said you’d be quick but I’ve been waiting reeeeeeaaaaally long you know!” continued the kid making wide gestures with his arms and ending with a pout, his blue gaze fixed on hers all the while.

Isabelle was speechless. Was this boy…talking to her? Or rather who the hell was he? She was sure she had never seen him before. Surely she would have remembered such eyes. Also, for some reason he looked different from the other kids who lived in the underground city. His clothes were a bit too clean, his hair too neatly brushed.

“Brother?” enquired the boy, tilting his head to the side, seemingly confused. “Aren’t we going?”

Her first thought was that he was probably talking to one of her attackers but that would be odd seeing as he had been looking at her the whole time. Maybe he had somehow mistaken her for someone else…? She glanced at the four men taking in their frozen stances and stunned expressions. Definitely not someone they knew.

A tiny hand wrapped around hers and started pulling her away.

“Come on, let’s go.” insisted the child pulling her after him.

They had only walked a few steps when the attackers woke from their daze.

“Don’t think you’ll get away you brats!” roared a scarred man.

“Tch!”

Isabelle looked down at her companion with surprise. Had he just clicked his tongue? There was no way, right? This kid was just an innocent boy…

She was literally dragged out of her thoughts as the boy bolted off, forcing her to keep up with him. She remained tongue-tied as the boy dashed through the streets at an insanely fast pace. Despite their speed, the quartet was still hot on their heels.

Hearing their panting and groaning lifted Isabelle’s spirits and she couldn’t help smirking at them. Those filthy pigs would never catch up to them in this state.

“Damn.” muttered the boy as he came to an abrupt halt.

The sudden stop caused the young girl to stumble. She looked at him with annoyance.

“What?” she snapped unnerved by the approaching thugs.

“I took a wrong turn.” said the boy. “This is a dead end.”

“WHAT?!”

She looked up disbelievingly. The street indeed ended in front of a tall, dark building.

The sound of hurried footsteps and triumphant laughter made her face the other way.

“Brats!” hissed the meanest looking guy.

He stopped after the one word and Isabelle had to wonder if it was because he didn’t have enough breath left.

“It’s a pity we’re not into boys,” started his scarred companions, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “but we can still give you a good beating.”

The man’s word echoed in Isabelle’s brain. What did he mean exactly by: “not into boys”? She realized he was talking about her as well and she was highly disturbed. She knew she wasn’t the most feminine girl around but still!

“I’m a girl!” she snapped angrily. “Surely you can see that?”

“You idiot.” muttered the boy whose hand she was still holding.

The comment made her remember his earlier words. Of course, it was all because he had called her ‘brother’! It was all his fault! No, wait…did he think she was a guy?

“You, you realize I’m a girl, right?” she asked the brunette, fearing the answer.

The boy shot her an aggravated look.

“Are you a complete idiot?” he asked. “Or is it that you actually want to get raped?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she yelled. “And who do you think you’re calling a tomboy?!”

“Who do you think, stupid woman?!” shouted back the kid.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” roared meanest-looking-guy, having finally regained his breath. “Forget about having fun, I’ll just kill you both.”

The two children took a step back and gulped audibly.

The next moment happened in a blur. Meanest-looking-guy had taken out a knife and was advancing towards them. Next thing they knew, their attackers were sprawled on the ground and a familiar raven-haired boy was standing in front of the two kids.

Slowly the young man turned to look at them. Silver eyes passed briefly on the girl’s figure before stopping on the blue eyed boy.

“You sure like to get into trouble, brat.”


	8. Days of Light - Part 2

“It’s Eren!” snapped the brunet frowning angrily.

After the moment of surprise at being saved a second time by the same person, it had finally registered in the boy’s mind that the raven haired shorty had once again failed to call him by his name. He glared turquoise daggers at his saviour, only to be completely ignored.

“Isabelle, what were you thinking?” was saying the boy glowering at the boyish girl Eren had attempted to help.

The girl cowered seemingly trying to become as small as possible under the boy’s intense gaze.

“I’m sorry.” she muttered sheepishly, blushing with shame.

“We’re going to have a long talk about this later.” hissed the raven haired teen menacingly.

The girl nodded humbly, stubbornly refusing to meet the two pools of silver fire staring her down. Meanwhile, Eren had decided he had better take his leave. Despite being vertically challenged, that boy looked pretty scary at the moment. He could always try and find him again later. Especially since he now knew what that Isabelle girl looked like, he could always keep an eye out for her too.

“Oy, Brat.” called the raven haired teen as Eren was walking away.

Eren’s eyebrow twitched upon hearing the insulting nickname but the boy showed no other sign of having heard and kept his back firmly turned towards the other two. He kept walking, his pace steady.

Isabelle chose that moment to peek up at her brother’s face and she had to hold back a frightened squeak. If he had looked pissed off before, he now looked positively murderous. She cautiously took a step back, her eyes going from the boy’s retreating figure to her brother’s face.

“Eren.” dropped the raven haired boy in a tone that suggested it was causing incommensurable pain to say the name.

With morbid curiosity, Isabelle turned to look at the brunet.

The boy had stopped in his tracks and was slowly turning towards them.

“Yes?” he asked brightly, smiling a sickeningly sweet smile.

From the corner of her eye, the young girl saw her brother’s eyebrow twitch in annoyance, while his lips twitched upwards. Annoyed or amused? She couldn’t tell.

“You’re coming with us.”

The child’s eyes widened rather comically, before narrowing suspiciously.

“You’re going to kidnap me?” he asked in a distrustful tone.

“Don’t be stupid.” deadpanned the raven haired teen. “You’re fucking filthy. I’m having both you and Isabelle wash before you do anything else.”

Eren stared on, in a convincing imitation of an owl. Had she been less scared of the short boy next to her, Isabelle would have laughed at his evident shock. But she contented herself, with looking solemn when her brother’s silver gaze fell on her, as if she was entirely supportive of his hygienic morals and took filthiness very seriously indeed. Her expression of utter seriousness never failing, she stepped after the short teen when he started walking away and motioned to Eren to follow when they passed him.

They walked in silence. The dark haired boy who was leading their strange procession didn’t look like the type to indulge in small talk and the girl was sealed into mournful obliviousness. With nothing else left to do, Eren paid attention to his surroundings.

They were walking West, around the whores’ district without entering it and through parts of Oz Eren had never really explored. He had never actually left what could be considered the town centre of Oz, in the middle of which was the Black market. Why he didn’t visit the whores’ district did not need any explanation. Not only was it full of prostitutes, it was also where most of the drug deals and other traffics took place. Not a good place to hang out. Further than this were mostly poor residential districts.

Along the street they were walking on now, there were less and less houses. Some were in fact no more than ruins and looked like they were only used by the local kids as a playground. After about ten minutes of walking through that mostly deserted area, houses in better condition started appearing. There were also sorts of tents made of a patchwork of fabric. They were approaching the stone wall which was in fact on of the sides of the gigantic crack above them.

The raven haired boy, led them right up to it. There he waited for them to catch up. Once both younger children had reached him, he jerked his chin towards the stone wall. Wordlessly, Isabelle approached it and started climbing up. It was then that Eren noticed the many holds offered by the wall. With another motion of the raven haired teen, the brunet took a hold of a rack and heaved himself upwards. It was relatively easy to follow Isabelle’s trail. There were always plenty of holds to use and none were tricky. The only difficulty was that some of the holds were rather high up and Eren’s short stature made it difficult to reach them. When this happened he would stretch painfully until he reached the desired rock. Sometimes, he would only be able to brush the stone with his fingertips and strong hands would wrap around his waist and hold him up. The help was frustrating to Eren as he felt a desperate need to prove himself to the short nasty-looking teenager climbing behind him.

At last, they arrived in front of a cave mouth which hadn’t been visible from the bottom. The cave wasn’t very deep but it was wide and provided a nice living space. Boxes and pieces of fabric as makeshift of curtains had been arranged here and there to furnish and divide the cave.

“Go on.” muttered the raven haired boy, giving the brunet a push in the back.

Eren snapped out of his daze and hurried after Isabelle who had walked straight up to a big container with water in it.

“Wash your hands and face.” instructed the girl, doing so herself.

The boy obliged, carefully scrubbing away all traces of dirt. Once he was done, he looked around the cave trying to determine what he was supposed to do. His gaze automatically drifted to the raven haired boy who was now sitting on one of the wooden boxes. He had taken his shirt off and was examining something on his shoulder. Curious, Eren approached him. Vivid red came into his vision. The teenager was sporting a thin but long gash which went from his shoulder to just above his chest.

“Should I take a look at it for you?” enquired Eren amicably. “I know a bit about that kind of thing.”

Silver eyes riveted on him and gazed at him thoughtfully. After a long moment, the boy nodded curtly. Eren beamed and bounded up to the boy. He examined the injury carefully before declaring it clean enough to bandage.

“It’s not very deep.” he told the older boy as wrapped pieces of torn fabric around the wound. “It should heal quickly if you keep it clean.”

It was as he finished bandaging the other boy’s wound that the brunet noticed the diminishing light. He glanced up at the crack where part of the sky was visible. It looked like the sun was going down. Light always diminished faster in Oz than above ground since there wasn’t a lot to begin with. From what he could tell, it was late afternoon. About time he should head home.

“I’ve got to leave.” he told the raven haired boy getting to his feet.

“Sure.” replied the raven haired boy distractedly as he put his shirt back on.

Eren hovered over him hesitantly.

“What?” snapped the teen as the brunet continued his silent shuffling.

“You haven’t told me your name yet.” reminded Eren, a hint of hope in his tone.

“Levi.” answered the raven haired boy after a brief pause.

The smile Eren gave him was brighter than the sun at its zenith.


	9. Days of Light - Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it can be a bit difficult to keep track of their age so here are the ages of the characters so far:
> 
> Eren: 7 years old  
> Isabel: 13 years old  
> Farlan: 15 years old  
> Levi: 16 years old

Levi was not soft hearted. In the sixteen years he had been alive, he had spent ten in the underground city of Oz, running away from criminals and stabbing those that got in the way. He was one of those who lived, standing on a pile of corpses. He was aware of it. And maybe it was his own filthiness that had prompted his hatred of dirtiness. There were no laws that said you could not hate something that you lived with. Even if there had been, it wouldn’t apply to Oz anyway. For Oz was one of those places where evil was in the air you breathed, in the blood that ran through your vein and in the one that flowed on the street. It wasn’t that the crime rate was high, it was that innocence did not exist. How many of those living in Oz had never stabbed someone for a piece of bread? How many had not walked past the starving children dying on the roadside without so much as a glance? How many had yet to taint themselves for a few coins or food to put on the dinner table? Not many that was for sure.

Some pretended. They would act as if they were complete strangers to crime, murders and violence. But in the end, they were just running away from reality. Levi was not one of those. He knew what he did and he did willingly. Blaming criminals and seeking justice was a luxury only those of above could afford. In the lower floors of Maria money was as rare as flowers in winter. Kill or be killed was the only rule that went. And Levi would rather kill.

This complete acceptance of his darker side had made him strong. Strong enough to become well-known in the underground city. He had started off as a simple thug. A thief who would get into fights to gain some respect. There hadn’t been much to live for in those days. Where he had found the drive to fight for his life was a mystery even to him. But he had somehow. And before he knew it, he had caught sight of a starving girl and took her with him. Had he felt pity then? Or had he seen his own six year old self in her, dying like a rat in the sewers?

Later the two had been joined by Farlan, a thief who was a year younger than Levi. They had been living together ever since. Farlan had trained Isabelle in the art of thieving, and he had made more blood flow in dark red streams in the dirty streets of Oz.

And then, that boy had come.

Levi had found him being beaten up by some random scum. Why had he even bothered helping? There was no reason to involve himself. Well, he supposed it had paid off in the end. The boy was entertaining and had ended up helping out Isabelle too.

There was definitely something weird about that kid though. The brunet wasn’t exactly a saint. Levi had seen him fight a lot more violently than most boys his age. He had a raw anger, a blazing fury which made him look like a demon. Yet, he could produce such a brilliant smile.

 _Strange kid_ , thought Levi as he glanced at the bandages the child had expertly wrapped around his shoulder.

“Who’re you?”

Farlan’s exclamation made him turn towards the cave’s entrance. The blonde man was standing there, having been on the verge of going out, and opposite him was…

“What the fuck are you doing here, Shitty Brat?!” snapped Levi looking disbelievingly at the turquoise eyed boy.

“Good morning Levi!” chirped Eren, the picture of innocence.

“Eh? You know each other?” asked the Farlan bewildered.

A heavy sigh escaped Levi’s lips. Why the hell had he bothered helping that damn brat?

After he had first met Isabelle, Eren had gone back to the cave many times. He had met a blonde man called Farlan with whom he got along very well. He didn’t get along as well with Isabelle as the girl was constantly picking fights with him. They ended up arguing a lot. Levi never involved himself much with them. He would stay in a corner, going about his own business, harshly refusing Eren’s company. If the brunet had taken the rejections pretty hard at first, he had gotten used to it. He hadn’t given up though. Levi intrigued him more than anyone else he had ever met.

To pass time and give himself a reason to be around the trio, he had asked Farlan to teach him how to fight properly. The blonde had agreed immediately. Levi seemed to disapprove for some reason. Sometimes, Eren would meet the hard silver gaze fixed on him and it always felt like the raven haired boy was against his presence and even more so the fighting classes. Yet, he never said anything. At least not while Eren was here. He probably hadn’t said anything to Farlan though, as Eren suspected the lessons could have ended with just one word from the raven haired teen.

The blonde respected Levi a great deal, as did Isabelle. Though in the girl’s case it was more adoration than anything else. She saw Levi both as her saviour and elder brother after all. Farlan seemed to be more of a close friend of Levi’s.

Truth be told, Eren was a bit jealous of the two. Levi never addressed him if he could help it and when he did, it was generally to insult him and tell him he was filthy. He wished the raven haired boy would let him come closer. But that Eren knew, was probably just an unattainable wish.


	10. Days of Light - Part 4

As had become usual, Eren was happily running towards the cliff where Levi, Farlan and Isabelle resided. On his way he passed through a small ‘village’ of sorts. He supposed he should call it a neighbourhood but it was so different, so much calmer than the rest of Oz that Eren couldn’t help but see it as a completely different place. He had heard that part of the obscure town was called, half-jokingly, the Holy Land. It had been at some point, from what he had gathered. A nun had lived here and as she was also a doctor, she became quite well-known around Oz. Doctors were extremely rare and it was in everyone’s best interest to take good care of them when they were there. So everyone respected the nun and gave her enough to live in exchange for treatments. As an unspoken rule, the place in which she lived and the neighbourhood around it was to be left alone and treated as a sacred place. Even after she had passed away, the rule of no criminal activities in her old home had remained and now it served as a home for those either too weak for the harsh rules of Oz to live. There were families, single women with children, old people and a small orphanage. It was a nice place to be in.

As he came every day without fail, Eren had started getting acquainted with the inhabitants of the Holy Land, besides Levi, Farlan and Isabelle.

“Hello, Grandma, Grandpa!” called the small brunet stopping in front of two houses.

Two elderly people were in front of the houses. One of them was a bony old man with a cane. The other was a woman just as old and bony as her companion, with long grey hair tied in a ponytail and a kind smile on her lips.

“Eren, good morning.” said Grandma Arabelle walking towards him. “Are you going to that Levi’s place again?”

“Yup.”

“Be careful on those rocks will you? It wouldn’t do for you to get hurt.” she said worriedly.

“Yes, Grandma.”

“Leave the boy alone you nagging old thing.” said Grandpa Tom, slowly moving towards them. “The boy’s climbed the cliff every day and nothing ever happened.”

“Well of course you would say that, insensitive as a spoon as you are.” snapped the old woman.

Eren laughed a little as the two elders engaged into yet another ‘best insult contest’. After seeing them arguing all the time, Eren had come to realize that they actually enjoyed insulting each other and squabbling over the smallest things. He supposed it was their way of showing the liked each other’s company. They were quite well-known for it and everybody laughed light-heartedly when they saw them at it. Smiling fondly at the pair of elders, Eren skipped a few feet away.

“I’m going now! Bye-bye!” he called back waving his hand.

The two stopped arguing long enough to send him off with a goodbye and a wave of his cane, in Grandpa Tom’s case.

The brunet didn’t stop again after that. He gave a few hellos here and there when he met someone he knew (which was mostly everyone) but he never stopped running towards the cliff. When he reached it, he gave a hesitant glance at the small house built at its foot. Seeing no activity whatsoever around the ‘orphanage’ Eren shrugged and started his ascension. He’d go later. It wasn’t like the place would disappear if he didn’t go now.

He was surprised by the silence when he reached the cave. Farlan and Isabelle were there as usual, but they were sitting on boxes near the entrance, talking quietly. This was unusual as they both, especially the girl, were prone to talking loudly and arguing. The young boy trotted towards them, with a questioning gaze. They caught sight of him and Farlan smiled, gesturing to a third box next to them.

“Come and sit with us.” he said very quietly.

Eren nodded, understanding that he shouldn’t make too much noise, though he didn’t know the reason. He sat next to Farlan making as little noise as possible before looking up the blonde teen.

“What’s happening?” he whispered.

Farlan grinned though it seemed a bit grim.

“Nothing much. It’s just that Levi’s good a job tonight so he’s sleeping now.”

Something in the way Isabelle’s expression darkened and how Farlan’s smile was stiff told Eren that whatever the job was, neither really approved of it. It had to be something which paid well though, because the small group lived pretty well considering. Well, pretty well for people living in Oz, meaning they usually had food for meals.

“Oh.” said Eren in understanding, though he didn’t understand much at all.

He might be thick-headed at times but even he knew that it was best not to press the matter.

“Sorry, about that Eren.” continued Farlan a bit more cheerfully. “We won’t be able to train today.”

Eren smiled.

“It’s okay.” he said.

Silence fell upon the trio. Isabelle was concentrating on an object in her hands while Farlan and Eren sat silently. At some point, Eren’s gaze travelled to Isabelle and what she had in her hands.

“Is that a book?” he asked with great interest.

Isabelle looked up.

“Yeah.”

“What is it about?” asked Eren, his curiosity making him bend forward.

The girl blushed before admitting hesitantly:

“I don’t know. I can’t read well.”

“Can I see it?” asked Eren enthusiastically.

The girl nodded, seemingly glad that Eren had made no comment about her inability to read. She passed the book to the brunet who took it reverently and scanned the first pages.

“It’s a story.” he told the pair of teenagers waiting expectantly.

The both of them were now paying full attention to the boy.

“Can you read it?” asked Farlan softly.

Eren nodded fervently and started reading quietly.

“Once upon a time in a land of darkness…”

His whispering voice seemed to echo in the silent cave and carried to its deep end where Levi was resting, his back turned to the others. His eyes which had been opened, closed slowly as Eren’s voice was carried to his ears.

“…a hero mounting a silver beast with sharp claws appeared and vanquished the monsters. The people celebrated him and wished to give him gold and jewels to thank him but the hero and his mount vanished as soon as the last demon died. Never again did anyone hear of him and his existence became legend…”


	11. Days of Light - Part 5

Reading the story of the Hero and his Silver Beast had taken some time and it was now late afternoon. He only had about an hour or so before he had to go home. Eren did not regret spending so much time reading the book, but he was a bit disappointed that he hadn’t been able to see Levi. By ‘see’, he meant talk and interact with the raven haired boy. He had seen him, as in laid eyes on his sleeping form but that wasn’t exceptionally interesting.

The boy sighed as he made his way down to the bottom of the cliff.

At least the story had been interesting. It talked about a land outside from a long, long time ago. Back when people lived freely without walls barring them access to the outside. In those days, there had been ‘countries’. Eren knew that from his history lessons. Each country had a piece of land, its own people and a government, not always a king, to rule it. In different countries, people would sometimes speak different languages. These days everybody spoke the same language, though some people still knew the language their ancestors had spoken. Eren for instance knew a few words of German.

Anyway, the Hero in the story had saved many countries from the giant monsters that had assaulted them. The Hero wasn’t human. He was of a very old race, who had sworn friendship with humans. This was why he had saved them. It was a nice story. Eren would have liked to know what happened to the Hero and the Beast after they disappeared though…

He jumped to the ground and started to make his way towards the orphanage. The small house at the bottom of the cliff was called that way because the woman who lived in it would often let orphans stay the night, or eat a meal at her table. She had one or two children who were almost permanent guests but she really couldn’t afford to have all the orphans stay all the time. Often, when an orphan came to her home, he would try to bring a small gift. Some coins, a loaf of bread, anything that might help to continue her generous activity. Some merchants dropped by sometimes and gave her some money or leftover food. And Eren knew for a fact that Levi, Isabelle and Farlan sometimes brought food to her in exchange for sharing a meal with her and the orphans. He hadn’t eaten at the orphanage before, but Farlan had told him the owner was a wonderful cook.

Eren wouldn’t be surprised if she was. She always seemed to be good at everything around the house. Whenever he went, Eren would step in a sparkling clean house, the bed sheets were still as white as on the first day and were often drying outside the house, and she was also of very good company.

Her name was Katia Bartowski. She was a tall woman with pale skin and a head of long blonde hair. She had a pair of vivid blue eyes, which would light with mirth when she laughed. Nobody seemed to know where she had come from. The only information Eren had gotten was that she had arrived some five years before and had always lived at the bottom of the cliff since. She didn’t seem to leave her house much and was well-known as ‘the second nun’, even though she wasn’t an actual nun. The nickname was just a testimony of her great kindness and generosity. Few people knew, however, that she could be as scary as she could be kind. Eren, was one of those few unfortunate souls who had been introduced to that aspect of her.

Arriving in front of the open door (Katia never closed her door during the day as she wanted everyone to feel welcome), Eren peeked inside before entering.

“Katia?” he called. “It’s Eren.”

Noise from the kitchen answered him, and a moment later a beaming woman burst in the main room and caught him in an affectionate embrace.

“How are you, Eren?” she asked squeezing him against her chest.

“Very well thank you.” was the boy’s muffled reply.

After he was released they both went to sit at the table, opposite each other.

“Were you up at Levi’s place again?” enquired Katia kindly.

She knew of Eren’s obsession for the older boy and wished Levi payed him a little more attention. She was fond of the both of them and found them quite similar in a way, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint in what way that was.

“Yes, I didn’t see much of Levi though. He was sleeping.” a pout appeared on the boy’s face. “Farlan said he had a job tonight.”

Katia’s smile froze instinctively. She realized too late that Eren had been waiting for her reaction.

“You know what he does right?” asked the child, losing his airs of miffed kid for an expression of stubborn seriousness.

“I do.” admitted Katia uncomfortably.

“What is it?”

“I don’t think I should tell you that.” the woman glanced sideways, refusing to meet the brilliant blue eyes.

“Tell me.” persisted the child. “I’m not delicate, I can take it! And it’s not fair that I’m the only one who doesn’t know!”

Still, Katia stayed silent.

“Fine. Be that way. I’ll just ask Levi next time I see him.”

Dratted kid.

“Don’t you dare!” exclaimed Katia knowing such a thing would absolutely disastrous.

Eren looked at her expectantly. He was quite the manipulative one, that child, thought Katia sighing heavily.

“He kills people in exchange for money.” she said quietly. “It’s not something he’s proud of, and he probably wouldn’t want you to know about it. You have to understand that he doesn’t do it because he likes it. He does it because it pays well. He needs the money for Farlan and Isabelle. He wants the best for them…”

She couldn’t tell what the brunet was thinking. His expression was closed off and thoughtful. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, until Eren got to his feet.

“I’ve got to go home now, Katia.” he told her, sounding no different from usual. “Bye bye!”

She watched him trot away through the Holy Lands towards more dangerous parts of Oz. She hoped she wouldn’t come to regret her decision.


	12. Days of Light - Part 6

Morning had passed uneventfully in the cave Levi inhabited with his two honorary siblings. So uneventfully, in fact, that the raven haired teenager was starting to get worried. Until that day, a certain brunet had showed up every morning without fail. His arrival would be followed by a bout of shouting between himself and Isabelle before Farlan arrived and convinced him to start their training.

Naturally, when he had woken up from his short morning nap after his job of the previous night, Levi had expected the day to follow the usual pattern. Except Eren had never showed up. Farlan and Isabelle had come back from their morning ‘stroll’ which consisted of wandering the streets, grabbing the fastest pouches they could find as they went. They couldn’t earn much that way, but it brought a few coins and sometimes enough to buy some food. Their main income was what Levi earned by assassinating people, and frankly they could live with that alone. Levi knew however that it made the two feel a bit less guilty to bring back their own share. He wasn’t stupid. He knew they didn’t like what he was doing, but he didn’t have much choice. It paid well and they needed the money.

Anyway the point was, that by the time Farlan and Isabelle had come back, the brunet still hadn’t arrived. The three of them had hung around the cave, something they never did before the boy had first come. None of them had ever mentioned the blue eyed child, but they were all waiting for him, as they busied themselves with superfluous activities.

When noon came and the boy still failed to show up, Farlan and Isabelle had decreed the boy had things he needed to do today and might or might not show up later in the day. Levi stubbornly kept up the appearance that he really didn’t care whether or not the boy came. He tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter that he wasn’t there and that nothing could have happened to him. He was training with Farlan and ran hella fast…But Farlan wasn’t the best of fighters and if he could defend himself, his techniques could be insufficient when facing a skilled fighter. What if Eren had run into trouble like that time with Isabelle?

Levi got up brusquely, his sudden movement catching Farlan’s and Isabelle’s attention. He banished the worry from his mind, because after all _he didn’t care at all about the damn kid_ , and marched towards the entrance followed by the two other’s questioning stares.

“I’m going out.” he announced a bit snappishly before he started descending towards the bottom of the cliff.

As he climbed down, thoughts of the smiling brunet sneaked back into his mind. It kept him busy, worrying about the brunet before kicking the annoying thoughts out of his mind, for them to sneak back in a moment later. Engrossed in his thoughts as he was, he got the impression that he reached the bottom in no time. Once his feet were on the ground, he became unsure.

Where the hell was he even going? It was all nice and well that he had decided to go out, but he couldn’t exactly stroll without aim in Oz. The underground city wasn’t the kind of place where one could go on leisurely afternoon walks, so where could he go?

He was saved from making any kind of decision by Katia calling him from where she was doing her laundry in front of her house.

“Levi!” called the woman waving to him with a bright smile.

The raven haired boy didn’t hesitate for long. He might be violent and short-tempered, with no love for people in general but he did have a soft spot for the blonde woman. Katia had never held his nocturnal activities against him and had always welcomed him with open arms. She had often tended to his wounds when he was younger and remained in his heart one of the few he considered as friends.

“Katia.” he said in terms of greeting as he stopped next to her.

He knelt on the grass next to the basin, and rolled up his sleeves in the way Katia had, before plunging his arms in the soapy water and starting to wash the sheet.

“How are you doing? I didn’t expect to see you today. You don’t come out so much anymore.” commented the woman, as she continued her washing, this time with Levi’s assistance.

Levi remained silent. It was true he didn’t really go out much in the day, because Eren was there, and for some reason he would always stay in the cave when Eren came.

“Eren didn’t come, so I’m free to do what I want.” he said at last.

Not that he needed to stay at home when the kid was there but he couldn’t see himself telling the woman he was worried to death over a snotty brat who was probably fine wherever he was.

“Oh.”

The slight cracking in the woman’s voice and the way her hands stopped moving for a moment was all Levi needed to know she knew something.

“You know something.” he said, looking up to stare at her.

Katia recoiled a little when she was met with the hard steel gaze.

“He came by yesterday. We talked a bit.” she said.

He knew she wasn’t lying, but he also knew she hadn’t told him everything. The blonde woman went back to her washing, but Levi continued staring at her intently.

“What did you tell him?” he asked, a pool of dread forming into his stomach.

Katia didn’t look up, stubbornly rubbing the sheets.

“He wanted to know what kind of job you did at night.” she admitted finally.

As the yelling she was expecting didn’t come, she glanced upwards. The raven haired boy was looking at her with utter disbelief. Slowly, it morphed into resignation and, Katia wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it, pain. She was stunned for a moment but when she regained her senses and made to check, the young man had already gotten to his feet, quickly dried his arms and walked away.


	13. Days of Light - Part 7

Three days. It was the total amount of time in which Eren had not come to the cave. Three days during which Levi had been staying at home, usually in bed, doing nothing. His refusal to do anything, and especially communicate, had brought Farlan to think that the raven haired teenager was ill somehow. He had immediately gone down to talk about it with Katia, as the woman had experience in dealing with sick children. After he had told her, the blonde woman had gone from surprised to laughing her heart out. She had clapped him strongly on the back and told him Levi was just moping and to let him be. Farlan had been a bit doubtful, but if Katia said so…

They were now entering the third day of this pitiful state and the blond boy was seriously starting to wonder if he should have trusted Katia’s opinion.

“I wonder what’s wrong with him.” said Isabelle, staring at Levi’s back.

The raven haired boy was lying on his mattress, facing the wall. Farlan didn’t know if he was sleeping or not and wasn’t brave enough to check anyway. The blond sighed.

“I don’t know.”

He just hoped it was going to resolve itself soon, or he might become depressed himself.

Three days. It had become quite clear to Levi that the reason why Eren had stopped coming was because he was disgusted, or worse scared of him. Of course he would be. Eren was after all, a child from a decent background. He had mentioned once that he didn’t actually live in Oz, but near enough. His clothes were always neat too and he never complained of being hungry. Levi didn’t need any more than that to know that if Eren’s family wasn’t filthy rich, it was definitely not too poor to raise a child.

Now, just so there weren’t any misunderstandings. Levi was most certainly wasting his days away for things as flimsy as sadness. He couldn’t care less if Eren decided not to come because he couldn’t be around him. Really. He didn’t give a damn. He was just tired lately and had decided to take a break. Which was why he was in bed. No other reason.

He would admit to feeling a tiny bit put off by Eren’s continued absence. It couldn’t be helped that he was a disgusting killer! He lived in Oz, everybody was around here! It was all the boy’s fault for having ideas or whatever.

Apart from that, he didn’t feel anything. He most certainly did not miss the boy’s presence. Absolutely not.

The only reason why he hadn’t taken any jobs lately was not out of guilt or any such ridiculous reason, but simply because, as he had said previously, he was tired and needed a period of rest.

Which would have to end soon. They were running short on supplies and there was only so much Isabelle and Farlan could do by themselves. Levi sighed quietly.

He really didn’t want to, but he would have to get up. Get up and actually do something.

Slowly, he pulled himself into a sitting position, still facing the wall.

He really felt way too lazy to do anything…maybe he was getting sick like Farlan had said?

“Oh, Eren!” exclaimed the blonde behind Levi.

Surprised, the raven haired boy turned around and…

“Hello! Sorry I couldn’t come for a few days!” announced the green eyed boy who had just casually entered the cave.

“No problem. We were a bit worried though.” said Farlan greeting the boy with a happy smile. “What happened?”

“My mom got ill so I had to look after her for a bit.” explained the boy. “She’s all better now so I thought I’d come and visit.”

Levi rubbed his eyes and stared. He wasn’t dreaming. Eren was there, smiling as he always had. And what the hell kinda reason was that? He had worried himself to death because Eren’s mother was sick? This had to be some kind of cosmic joke.

“Are you alright Levi?” asked Eren who had suddenly appeared on the mattress next to him. “You don’t look like usual.”

“Levi’s been very tired lately.” pitched in Farlan.

Bloody git.

“I’m fine.” snapped the raven haired boy.

“Could it be…” started Eren thoughtfully. “That you missed me?! You did, didn’t you?” he asked with a mischievous smile.

“I did not.” countered Levi. “In fact, I barely noticed you weren’t there, you Shitty Brat. Though now that I think about it, it was a lot quieter.”

“Pffff…You’re so mean.” pouted Eren.

“Just get your ass off my bed and get lost!”

Eren’s refusal to remove himself from Levi’s mattress was followed by a small squabble. The two boys ended up wrestling on said mattress, Levi trying to kick Eren off it and the smaller brunet intent on staying right where he was. Farlan watched them critically for a few minutes, pondering on whether or not he should comment on Levi’s childish behaviour. He finally decided he liked himself alive, thank you very much, and returned to quieter activities in another part of the cave.

When he returned an hour or so later, alerted by the silence that had fallen on that particular part of their home, he found them sleeping. Eren had somehow managed to collapse on top of Levi, his head resting against the older boy’s chest. One of Levi’s arms was carelessly flung around Eren’s middle. Farlan couldn’t help snorting at the sight. Well, at least, he thought as he carefully placed a blanket on top of them, Levi was feeling better.


	14. Dreaming Together - Part 1

After Eren’s impromptu disappearance and joyful coming back, Levi started involving himself a lot more with the younger boy. He would always be there when the boy visited and spent a lot of time criticising his training. He spent so much time at it, in fact, that Farlan got annoyed and told him to take over since he was apparently an awful teacher. Reluctant at first, Levi soon got engrossed in teaching the brunet. The fact that Eren had obvious talent for fighting and progressed quickly helped in getting the raven haired teen interested. They would often fight, and not always as part of the training. Generally their wrestling sessions ended in them collapsing on Levi’s bed and sleeping for a few hours.

Sometimes, Levi took Eren out to the rowdier parts of towns to give him some ‘hands-on knowledge’. Those days, Isabelle joined them and took part in the training. It soon became common to see Eren and Levi together and it quickly became accepted by those who knew them as the norm.

The two concerned didn’t seem to realize that they had gotten much closer but it was quite clear to everyone else.

It was a few month after Eren had first learned about Levi’s nightly activities that the raven haired boy decided to bring it up. The two them had trained for a few hours and were sitting at the foot of the cliff, in a deserted area.

“Oy, Brat.” started Levi causing the younger boy to turn towards him.

“Hmm?”

“Katia told you about my job, didn’t she?” he started cautiously.

Understanding could be read on Eren’s expression.

“Oh, yeah. It doesn’t bother me.” he said dismissively.

And that was the end of it.

“Oh, look! A bird!” exclaimed Eren suddenly.

His eyes had just drifted to the gaping hole overhead and caught sight of a black bird soaring upwards. The raven haired teen looked up lazily.

“Hadn’t seen one in a while.” he commented for lack of anything better to say.

“Me neither. I wish I could see more. When I’m older, I’ll go outside the walls and see a whole lot of things.”

“That so?” asked Levi decidedly uninterested.

“Yeah! Armin told me that there were lakes that tasted like salt and were so big you couldn’t see the end of them outside. They’re called oceans.” said Eren sounding all important.

“Taste like salt? How would you know they tasted like salt, you don’t even know what salt tastes like.” mocked the raven haired teen.

Eren blushed. Of course he hadn’t ever tasted salt. Spices were rare and extremely expensive. Only royalty could afford them and that was only when there was some.

“Shut up.” he grumbled. “There are other things too, like rocky hills called mountains. Some of them even spit fire.”

“The ocean thing sounds nicer to me.” remarked Levi. “I don’t fancy having my ass burned by your ‘mountain’.”

“Then let’s go to the ocean!” said Eren crawling up to where Levi was lying on the grass.

“Why should I go anywhere with you, Shitty Brat?” enquired Levi, not uninterested.

“Because you love me?”

Eren’s cheeky answer earned him a cuff to the back of the head.

“I mean, don’t you want to go out and see it?”

Levi took some time to think, looking at the fake sky overhead.

“I guess.”

“And the books say that the sky outside never ends. Don’t you want to see that?”

“Possibly.”

“Then come and see them with me!”

“We’ll see. By the time you’re old enough you’ll probably have forgotten about me anyway.” said Levi lazily.

“I won’t forget!” protested Eren. “Let’s make it a promise. That way neither of us will forget!”

Levi eyed the brunet critically.

“Fine then, it’s a promise.” he said at last. “I still say you’ll forget though.”

“Will not!”

“Will too. And anyway, how are you planning to go outside? We’ll drop dead before we get to the ocean without filter masks.”

Eren paused to think. His blue eyes widening a bit as he turned the problem in his head.

“The only ones who have filter masks are the army, right? I guess the King has one too but that’s a bit far…” he mused aloud. “We could steal masks from the army. You must’ve stolen from them before since you’ve got those metal things…”

“It’s 3DGM and they sell it at the Black Market.” said Levi.

“Really?”

“Only sometimes though. It’s pretty rare.”

“Oh…”

They looked at the sky in silence.

“Anyway, it can’t be impossible to get a pair of masks!” said Eren with certainty. “We’ll find some and then go outside.”

“I doubt it’ll be this easy.”

“You’re being too pessimistic.”

Smiling, Eren dropped himself on top of Levi, his head impacting with older boy’s stomach.

“Umpf!” huffed Levi as the brunet giggled. “What the hell are you head butting my stomach for? Are you trying to kill me or something?”

Eren dismissed his friend’s grumbling with another bout of laughter. When his laughter died out, the two boys continued lying on the grass, gazing at the stripe of fake sky.

“Levi, you’ll keep your promise, won’t you?” asked quietly Eren after a while.

The raven haired teen stayed silent for a bit before replying.

“As long as you keep yours.”


	15. Dreaming Together - Part 2

It had been a little more than a year since Eren had met Levi, Isabelle and Farlan. He was now a proud eight year old, and had grown ten centimetres taller. It wouldn’t be long until he was Levi’s height. Not that it was a high hurdle, or anything. Levi, who was now seventeen, seemed to be completely unable of growing past one meter sixty. It annoyed him awfully, when Eren compared his height to his.

The brunet laughed at the thought.

He was trotting along the road that would take him away from the city of Oz and towards the Holy Land where his friends lived. In the past year, he had spent most of his days there, mainly with Levi but sometimes also with Farlan and Isabelle. He liked spending time with Farlan, but isabelle was another story. The old beggar down the road had taught her to sing when she was hungry recently, and just like the old man her singing voice was absolutely awful. It was effective in its own way, since people passing by would rather part with a coin or a bit of food rather than become deaf. He had had to keep away from Oz a few times as his mother had grown suspicious.

She believed he spent his days in the forest close to Shiganshina and she would certainly not approve of him roaming the ‘Devil’s lair’ as she called it. It seemed his enthusiasm to return to the same place every day, had struck her as odd. But staying in Shiganshina for a few days once in a while had convinced her that he was innocent.

A shiver ran down his spine, not because he was thinking of Carla, but because the temperature was low. It was winter after all and the managers of the cities liked to pretend they were still outside, thus preserving the seasons.

It was therefore very cold in the Sisters at the moment and Eren’s thin jacket didn’t help much. He blew hot air on his hands and rubbed them together frantically so as to warm them up a bit. It really was cold.

Eren didn’t like winter very much. It was horribly cold, the sky was always grey and yet it never snowed. Obviously, Eren had never seen snow in his life but he knew what it was supposed to look like and he had always thought that winter might not be so bad if only it snowed. The only good thing about winter was Christmas. The origins of the event had been quite forgotten in history apart from the fact that it was supposedly someone’s birthday. A great guy, had once said Hannes. That it was a great guy’s birthday didn’t matter much to Eren. What mattered was that his mother always cooked a delicious meal that day and that he would get a present. Often new clothes or a small item from his father. It wasn’t much but to Eren it was a very precious time of the year.

And Christmas would happen soon, the day after in fact. This was why, Eren was hurrying towards Levi’s home. He wanted to wish him a Merry Christmas as he wouldn’t be coming the following day.

As he hurried past the few houses which formed the Holy Land’s village, Eren was stopped by someone calling him.

“Eren!” called an old woman as she slowly walked down towards him.

“Grandma Arabelle! Merry Christmas!” called back Eren, hurrying to meet her.

“And Merry Christmas to you too.” croaked the old woman happily. “Now run up to that lad of yours and bring him down with you. I have a present for the both of you.”

“You mean Levi?” asked Eren puzzled and a bit excited at the prospect of a present.

“That’s the one. I’ll make some hot infusion for you.” said the woman starting up to her house once more. “And you’d better bring that dratted old man from next door as well. He’s probably freezing to his death, daft as he is.”

While Grandma Arabelle disappeared in her house mumbling insults towards Grandpa Tom, Eren continued his route, smiling at the old woman’s antics. It didn’t take long for him to reach the cliff and climb it.

“Levi!” he called as soon as he arrived rushing towards the older boy. “Grandma Arabelle said to come down with you!”

He immediately proceeded to drag the older boy down with him despite his protests and soon they were knocking on the old woman’s door, Grandpa Tom in tow.

“Ah! There you are! I was starting to wonder what had happened to you.” commented the old lady ushering them in. “Better close that door old man, or the cold air will come behind you.” she told Grandpa Tom sternly.

As her guests took place around her small kitchen table, Grandma Arabelle serve the infusion.

“There you go. Not as nice as tea but good enough to warm us up.”

Tea was very expensive and commoners often made similar drinks with common herbs they found in the wild (if it could be called that).

“Thank you very much.” was uttered all around the table and the room was soon filled with the sound of sipping and grateful sighs.

“Does wonders that does, Arabelle.” said Grandpa Tom in a rare show of gratefulness.

“And very good for your health too.” agreed the old lady rummaging in a basket. “Ah! There we go.” she said coming back to the table carrying a bundle of red and green wool.

She unfolded the bundle revealing two scarves. One was emerald green and the other dark red.

“These are for you my dears.” said the Grandma kindly. “You don’t have enough on you for the winter.”

She wrapped the green scarf around Eren’s neck before placing the red one around Levi’s.

“Thank you Grandma.” whispered Eren awed by the present.

The scarf was fluffy and warm and he couldn’t remember ever owning such a nice piece of clothing. Levi’s scarf suited him extremely well too. Obviously Grandma Arabelle had thought a lot when making them.

“Thank you.” he said again, echoed this time by Levi, who also looked very happy with the item.

“You’re very welcome. Now drink that tea and warm yourselves up. I swear young ones these days don’t look after themselves properly.”


	16. Shattered Dream

“Oy, Eren, would you like living in Sina?”

Eren was sitting alongside Levi in their favourite spot. In the two years since they had met, most of their meaningful conversations had taken place there, at the bottom of the cliff, away from the other inhabitants of Oz.

“Dunno. I like it here.” answered the brunet. “Would you?”

There was a moment of silence. Their gazes met.

“I don’t know.”

They fell back into silence.

Eren didn’t know what was going on lately, but Levi had been a lot more thoughtful than usual. He would sit in silence for hours on end, looking at Isabelle and Farlan as if looking for an answer in them. Eren had heard in passing that a man had come to them with a job. It was a difficult one but the price was very high. It seemed Levi was trying to decide whether or not to accept the offer.

As much as he hated his helplessness, Eren could not do anything. No matter how close he and Levi were, he would never be involved in their affairs. This was where Levi drew the line. According to what Farlan had told him when he had gotten upset over the fact a little more than a year before, it was because Levi didn’t want him to see his worse side. The brunet didn’t really understand how that would make a difference in their relationship but kept silent anyway. There was also the possibility that Levi’s reasons were completely different, Farlan wasn’t all-knowing after all. That didn’t matter much to him though as Levi had told him that everything would be alright, and even though he lied to everyone else, the raven haired teen never lied to Eren.

At any rate, Eren wasn’t allowed to know the details, which was why he was quite shocked to see the Survey Corp’s green caped soldiers arriving in Oz. That day Eren had been killing some time at the black market because Levi, Isabelle and Farlan had things to do. Things that involved taking out their 3DGM. That usually meant they were about to do something dangerous. But dangerous wasn’t unusual for them so Eren hadn’t suspected the following events.

The soldier’s presence in the Underground City had shocked him at first and he had gaped at them as they flew overhead. The next moment is heart had dropped into a lake of ice. The Survey Corp was pursuing people and those were Levi, Isabelle and Farlan. The three were doing rather well at escaping, their skills at using the 3DGM were nothing to spit out, especially Levi’s. But as Eren’s heart drummed in his chest, he knew things were not going to be alright. As the trio and their pursuers continued their flight, the brunet started running after them, looking upwards so as to not lose track of them.

At some point the three separated, Farlan and Isabelle going to one side and Levi going the other. Eren didn’t have much choice as to who he should follow as Levi chose a route he could not follow. The brunet thus found himself chasing after Farlan and Isabelle and the three soldiers after them. It took a few more minutes before Farlan and Isabelle were caught up to. As they were taken into custody by the military, Eren hid in the shadows, an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

He couldn’t do anything. No matter how well he had been trained, a nine year old kid had no chance of winning against three trained soldiers. He could only watch.

It took another ten minutes for the two men who had been after Levi to reappear, the raven haired teen crashing into the ground a few feet away. Eren clasped his hands on his mouth to avoid making any noise, watching eyes wide with worry as Levi got back to his feet. He looked well enough and the brunet allowed himself a sigh of relief.

His relief didn’t last long, as a man with a moustache took hold of Levi and held him to the ground. A blonde man with clear blue eyes marched forward and started to ask the teen questions. Eren could only watch as Levi’s silence earned him a few kicks. Little by little, Eren’s eyes were turning to a golden colour and hardening into pure loathing. His enraged mind caught the blonde man’s name easily. Erwn Smith. He was going to kill him.

His resolve only grew when he heard the ‘deal’ offered by the blonde. Eren gritted his teeth. There was no way he was letting Levi join that guy. He realized that Farlan and Isabelle’s life were at stake, but he couldn’t let Levi go. Sneaking into the shadows, he positioned himself right behind the blonde man and pulled a sharpened knife Levi had given him for self-defence.

As soon as he detected an opening, he jumped forward colliding with the man’s back and sending him to the ground. Swiftly he sat himself on the soldier’s back and placed the knife at his exposed neck.

“Release them.” he snarled.

The three soldiers who were surrounding Isabelle and Farlan looked at the man holding Levi, who in turn glanced at his chief being threatened by a child.

On a sign of the moustached guy, another soldier took his place in maintaining Levi to the ground. His gaze met Eren’s and the two glared at each other.

“Kid.” started the moustached guy but was cut off as Eren’s golden glare turned to the blonde and his knife grazed the man’s neck.

“Don’t move. If you do I’ll slit your throat.” threatened the brunet, successfully stopping the man from struggling.

Unfortunately, the other soldier had taken that moment to place his sword to Eren’s neck. The proximity of the weapon didn’t faze the brunet.

“If you kill me, I’m taking him with me. Is that alright?” he asked with a maddening smirk.

“Mike.” said the blonde beneath him warningly.

The man didn’t have time to reply as a kick sent him flying a few feet away. Levi had gotten rid of the soldier guarding him. The raven haired teen seemed slightly out of breath but that didn’t stop him from grabbing the brunet and taking him a little distance away from the soldiers.

“Eren.” he said holding the boy close to his chest.

The boy grabbed Levi’s shirt and clutched it, letting his knife fall to the ground.

“Don’t…” he whispered horrified.

“I’m going with them.”

“No.” gasped the boy, tears spilling from his wide green eyes.

Behind them, the soldiers were drawing closer.

“I’m sorry Eren.”

Those words were the last Eren heard before a precise punch knocked him out.

As the brunet fell unconscious, the raven haired teen wrapped the red scarf he had been wearing around his neck and tussled his brown hair one last time before getting up and turning to face the soldiers.

“I’ll agree to your deal, but I have one more condition.” he told them firmly, his silver blazing with determination.


	17. Wearing a Mask - Part 1

He had never felt as empty as when he had woken up, a red scarf wrapped around his neck, alone. He had gazed disbelievingly at the dark red piece of clothing, before hastily getting to his feet and running towards the cliff. At the back of his mind, a little voice was telling him it was no use. That Levi had gone with the soldiers. But he was clinging at straws wanting to hope, for a little longer, that Levi had changed his mind.

Except Levi never changed his mind and it became all too clear when he arrived in the cave that this time was no exception. It was empty. Levi’s belongings were still there along with Isabelle’s and Farlan’s. The green scarf he had left there earlier was also there. They hadn’t come back, never would again.

He didn’t cry. He wasn’t sad, he was empty. It wasn’t that it hurt, it was just that he couldn’t feel anything anymore. He had lost everything and he couldn’t see any hope of regaining the happiness he had known.

He went home that day, red scarf still wrapped around his neck, the green one having been left behind. Carla noticed immediately that her son was unusually glum but she didn’t say anything. She knew that at times it was better to leave people to think. She had no doubt he would be better the next day. Except he wasn’t. He didn’t get better the following day, or the day after that. He stayed in his room looking in the distance. It worried her that she didn’t know what was wrong with him. When she finally resolved to ask, the brunet smiled an empty smile and said:

“I’m just lonely, Mum.”

After that, he got steadily better. He smiled again, but not like before. It wasn’t the happy grins he used to show but an empty stretching of his lips. His eyes became dull and he looked at everything apathetically as if he had suddenly lost an interest in everything.

When Grisha came back from Sina, they decided Armin’s absence was finally taking its toll on Eren. He needed a friend. They both knew how the other children treated their son. They also knew that Armin had been the only one to ever extend a hand of friendship to Eren. And in their minds they had no doubt that Eren simply needed the company of someone his age.

The fact that his visits ‘to the forest’ became less and less frequent escaped their notice. In truth, Eren had gone back to Oz a few times but it had only made him emptier. Every time he found the cave empty, his heart sank a little more. At long last, he resolved not to go anymore. He visited Katia, Grandpa Tom and Grandma Arabelle a few times and managed one or two genuine smiles but they knew the loss of his other half, as they liked to refer to the older teen, had hit him hard.

After a while, Eren also stopped visiting them. When he told them, they nodded sadly and wished him well. That was the last time he ever stepped in Oz.

By a strange coincidence, his father decided the next day to take him on his visit to the Ackerman family. According to Grisha they had a daughter of Eren’s age and it would do him good to meet new people. Eren smiled quite convincingly, as he had learned to do as of late, and nodded.

The trip took them to the farmlands. The Ackerman family apparently owned a farm, a little away from Shiganshina. It turned out that the farm in question was at the foot of a hill. As the rest of the hills inside the walls, it was more of a mound than anything, what made it impressive were the tall dark trees covering it.

“Here we are.” announced Grisha jovially, glancing at his expressionless son, as they arrived in front of the house.

He knocked but no reply came. He knocked again.

“That’s strange. They should have been expecting us.” muttered the doctor.

Cautiously he pushed open the door and gasped in shock at the scene waiting for him. Mrs Ackerman was lying on the wooden floor, in a pool of her own blood. Her husband was in a similar state, with the addition of a knife stabbed in his heart. Grisha only needed to look at the man slumped against the wall to know he was dead. One did not recover from such injuries. He therefore hurried to the wife and flipped her on her back. Despite the alarming amount of blood, he checked her pulse. As he had expected, he found none. Suddenly remembering their daughter, he looked around frantically but there was no sign of the young girl in the house.

He went back to his own son who had been standing in the doorway watching the scene blankly. In other circumstances Grisha might have stopped to worry about his son’s lack of reaction but as it was, his priority was finding the Ackerman’s daughter.

“Eren.” he said, causing the dull green eyes to turn towards him. “I’m going to call the Garrison, you stay here. Do not move, okay?” he said sternly.

The boy nodded and he hurried off.

Left alone Eren turned back to his silent staring. Humans had done this, he knew. How many times had he seen similar things in Oz? Really, humans were such filthy creatures. Nobody would blame the person who would put an end to the life of such lowlifes. The metallic glint of a kitchen knife caught his eye. He slowly moved towards it and picked it up.

He was angry. Not because they had killed his father’s friends but because what he loved the most had been taken from him. He hated humans. He hated their selfishness. It was simply too bad for the guys who had done this that they were the ones in his way. He didn’t have anything against them personally after all, he just needed to vent. His eyes turned to a shade of gold as his lips stretched into a smirk. He would make them pay. Those filthy pigs first. And then, he would make Erwin Smith pay. He would never forgive him.


	18. Wearing a Mask - Part 2

For someone who had spent days in the forest following barely visible animal tracks, following those of the men who had murdered the Ackerman couple was ridiculously easy. They obviously hadn’t expected someone to find out about their crime so quickly. Or perhaps they were just stupid. People in that kind of trade usually were. Because Eren had a hunch that the men who had done were involved in the sex trade. Basically they kidnapped people, girls mostly, and sold them to rich perverts. He had noticed when he was examining the bodies earlier than Mrs Ackerman had been an Asian. These people had become truly rare since humanity had locked themselves up inside the Sisters. Even though the father had been Caucasian, their daughter should be at least half Asian. That would certainly fetch a high price in the market.

It hadn’t been too difficult for the child to get to this conclusion. After all, the house hadn’t been robbed and the bodies were still intact. Meaning, whoever had committed the crime was not interested in their belongings or their organs. Eren had learned how organ traders worked in Oz, as all the dead bodies there were promptly taken away by ‘Sweepers’. According to Levi, the Sweepers brought the bodies to laboratories where they cut the body up and kept the organs in chemical stuff so as to keep them in good condition. They could then be sold to rich people who needed to replace one of their organs.

As the body of the parents had been left whole, it was clear that it wasn’t that kind of traders who had visited. There were therefore only three possibilities left: slavery, prostitution or a psychopath. A psychopath would probably have killed the daughter as well rather than taking her with him, so that hypothesis had been left aside. Slavery and prostitution remained. They generally worked as a pair so Eren didn’t really try to guess which one was the right one. It just seemed to him that slave traders would have taken all three family members rather than just the daughters. It was clear to him that they had killed the father first. The mother had fought back. Killing her might have been a mistake. In any case, they were after the women. Asians, on top of that. Definitely sex traders.

And if he was right about this, they deserved to die like the pigs they were.

The boy looked at the house he had arrived in. It was one of those refugees built for wood-cutters who stayed until late at night and needed a place to sleep in. It had started raining a while before and he was now thoroughly soaked. The rain had brought a dampness to the air which made it harder to catch on smells but even so, he could distinguish the coppery smell of blood he had grown up with.

They were here alright, and he had the perfect excuse to disturb them. He smirked as he hid his knife behind his back. Then he pushed the door opened, assuming the expression of a frightened child.

“E-excuse me.” he said in a trembling voice.

One of the men rushed to the door, twitching horribly. The amateur.

“B-boy, what are you doing here?” he asked blocking the room from view, while his companion who was in the other room, closed the door slightly, probably because the girl was inside and they didn’t want him to know.

“I-I got lost in the forest and-and then it started to rain…” he trailed off pathetically.

The man opened the door a fraction more as he made to turn around to ask his companion what he should do and that was all Eren needed. In one swift movement, he stabbed the man in the stomach. The man turned incredulous eyes towards him and collapsed in front of the smirking golden eyed child. The first man dying, Eren calmly stared at the other man who was looking at him from the back room, as stunned as the boy’s victim had been.

“Y-you brat!” he yelled finally moving.

Not losing his calm, Eren stepped to the side and entered the broom cupboard, closing the door on him. He grabbed the broom there and attached the knife to its end, thus making a spear. When the door opened he drove his makeshift weapon into the man’s heart. ‘If you have a physical disadvantage, make it up with brains’ had once said Levi. Eren pulled his knife out of the man’s chest and threw the broom to the side. He then casually marched to the back room.

The girl was there as he had thought. She was pretty, he could see why they had wanted her.

“Hello, I’m Eren Jaeger. I’m the son of Grisha Jaeger who was meant to come and see you today.” he introduced himself pushing a fake smile on his face.

The dark haired girl turned a pair of silver eyes towards him. Her eyes were just like Levi’s. In fact, she looked a lot like him. Levi wasn’t Asian but he did have glossy and straight raven hair which seemed to be a characteristic of the Eastern people.

“What’s your name?” he asked as he untied her, trying to push away all thoughts of his lost ones.

“Mikasa.” murmured the girl. “There was three of them.”

He didn’t understand the girl’s meaning quickly enough. When he realized she met there had been three kidnappers, a man was already looming behind him.

“Were you the one who killed them?” snarled the mountain of muscles grabbing Eren by the neck and lifting him up.

The brunet gagged, reflexively grabbing the arm that was strangling him.

He had messed up, he should have ascertained all his enemies were out before he started casually chatting. But like a fool he had just assumed it was just the two of them. Levi would never let him live it down if he knew.

Levi…


	19. Wearing a Mask - Part 3

The grip on his throat was making it difficult to breath and the brunet could see little black dots starting to dance around in his vision. This was bad. If he didn’t do anything soon, Eren would be dead meat. The thought that he would never see Levi again if that happened gave him the strength to think. What could he do? He was being strangled to death by a man he could not hope to beat with strength alone. He was not in a position where he could set clever traps and…

He could use the girl. She had been staring stupidly at his dying self, sitting on the wooden floor. She had the potential to turn this situation around. If he could just get her to move. Surely she could see the knife he’d dropped earlier!

“Fight.” he choked out.

The girl stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Fight you hear me!” he managed to say a little louder, staring straight at her. “If you don’t win you die….but if you win you live…You…You can’t win if you don’t fight!”

“WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO YOU ASSHOLE?!” screamed the man who was strangling Eren.

He didn’t see the Asian picking up the knife with trembling hands and get to her feet. She was trembling all over. It was pathetic. He supposed normal children would be like that. He didn’t know what normal meant, never had been himself…Now if she could hurry up…Or did she need another push? Humans were so annoying…

“I can’t do such a thing…” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

If he hadn’t been dying, Eren would have snapped. How foolish could this girl get? She just needed to drive the knife into the man’s flesh, dammit!

“This world…not a kind place…” he choked out with the last of his consciousness. “…realize…you can do…anything…”

The girl’s silver eyes widened. Had she understood what he was trying to tell her? It looked like it. He might have underestimated her intelligence a bit. She had stopped trembling and he could see her body moving forward. A scream erupted from the girl’s mouth, as she rushed forward knife held in front of her.

Eren took a big gulp of air when the grip around his throat slackened. With a well-placed kick, he shoved the man away, causing him to let go of him. The boy fell ungracefully to the floor, still gasping for air. With one eye, he looked at girl, Mikasa, who was looking at the knife she had driven through the man’s heart. She had done well for a wimp. He had to give her that.

Once he had regained his breath and felt well enough to move, Eren got back to his feet and walked to the door.

“Come on.” he said to the girl. “There’s no point staying here.”

He could already see the face the Garrison men would pull when they arrived there. Three dead men, killed by two nine year old children. It just served to prove how pathetic their existences were.

He watched as the girl took a hesitant step towards him, slowly closing the distance between them. It had stopped raining outside, so the brunet decided they might as well go back to the farm where his father expected to find him. He led the dark haired girl through the forest.

Mikasa remained silent the whole way though her eyes remained fixed on his back. Her eyes shone with a new born admiration. It didn’t make Eren feel good, knowing that someone looked up to him. In fact, it didn’t make him feel anything. After his murderous rage had left him, he had gone back to being his empty self. However, he knew something had changed in him. He hadn’t just taught the girl the reason why she should fight, he had reminded himself as well. Hadn’t he wanted to kill Erwin Smith? To win Levi back? Well, then he had to fight. But this was not the type of fight where you threw punches. No this was a fight where victory was determined by the quality of your lies. And there was no lie better than a true one.

For now, he would become someone else. A weak boy whose best friend was Armin Arlert and who dreamt of a wider world. There was no one by his side. He was simply, a boy. A pathetically normal boy.

When Grisha saw them arrive, he immediately proceeded to give his son a tongue-lashing. Eren didn’t pay a lot of attention to it as he was more interested in the Garrison soldiers. They had checked the farm before the two children arrived and had gone to see the refugee in the woods. When they had come back, they had stared shamelessly at the two children, disbelief written in their eyes.

Eren snapped back to attention just as his father’s rant ended.

“I-I just wanted to save her as soon as possible.” he said his chin trembling very convincingly and his eyes becoming teary.

That mollified the doctor, who finally let the matter go with a heavy sigh.

“Mikasa.” he said kindly, as he turned towards the girl. “Do you remember me? I visited once where you were smaller.”

The girl looked at him blankly.

“Doctor Jaeger, where should I go now?” she asked.

She was looking straight head, with eyes of an unwavering silver. Ah, she really did remind him of Levi. It was almost cruel how similar they looked. He wondered how similar to Levi she would look with his scarf on. He didn’t realize he was placing the piece of red wool around her neck until it was there, a few strands of raven hair falling over it. Yes, there was no denying it. He could see Levi there. A small presence in his mind whose memory was jogged every time he lay eyes on the girl. He was cruel both to himself and to her, he knew that. But he couldn’t, didn’t want to risk forgetting Levi. So he would remind himself constantly, by looking at Mikasa, of what he had lost.

“You’re coming with us.” he told the girl looking straight into her eyes. “We’re going home together.”

His fight had started. A fight against life, and against humanity.


	20. Wearing a Mask - Part 4

It had been hard in the beginning. Every morning, Eren would get up, walk into the kitchen and lay eyes on Mikasa. And every morning, his heart would clench and his throat would dry up. It was painful. It was hard. But it was addictive. For a moment at least, he saw the person he yearned to see, and if that was hardly enough, it fueled his desire to find him. It kept his rage burning and his determination alive.

As far as he could tell Mikasa hadn’t realized he wasn’t looking at her. The raven haired girl had gotten attached to him. She seemed to have gotten into her head that they shared some kind of special bond. A bond made of spilt blood, represented by the scarf that never left her neck. There was nothing of the sort as far as he was concerned but he did feel the tiniest bit sorry for her so he didn’t break her illusions. He couldn’t explain to her anyway. He had to hide this part of himself. It was sad that she had gotten caught in it in such a way but when it came down to it, she wouldn’t even be alive if not for him.

Having said that, not everything was a lie. He did like her. He didn’t mind having a sister and it was good to have someone around. To distract him. Also, Mikasa was nice enough. Admittedly she was a little annoying, what was with her trailing behind him like a lost puppy and being convinced he needed protecting. He had yet to understand how she had managed to get to that conclusion after he had barged in a house full of murderers in order to save her life, killing two of them in cold blood as he went. He had come to think the girl’s mind was made in a strange way.

“Eren! Wait for me!”

And there she was again, running after the brunet as he walked away from the house, a basket attached on is back. Carla had asked them to go and pick up some wood.

“I’m waiting.” he answered, not stopping for even a second.

He knew that he didn’t need to wait for her. She would catch up eventually. Mikasa seemed to understand his way of thinking (to a certain extent anyway) because she never insisted. It was as if she was giving him a warning that she was behind rather than making a request.

The two children walked at a steady pace, towards the beginning of the woodlands. They wouldn’t enter the forest. There was enough fallen branches littering its borders.

As they were about to leave the town, a familiar voice made Eren stop in his tracks.

“Eren!”

The brunet turned around, astonishment clear in his features as he caught sight of the blond boy running after them.

“Armin!” he exclaimed, showing a rare genuine smile. “What are you doing here?”

The look of happiness on his best friend’s face flickered.

“Mom died. She was sick apparently. I’m living with Grandpa again now.”

Eren felt a pang of guilt as he realized he hadn’t asked for news of Armin in ages. He had been so obsessed with Levi’s disappearance that he had almost forgotten his blond best friend.

“I’m sorry.” he whispered sympathetically. “It must have been hard.”

Armin shrugged, looking away with an expression that said they needed to change the subject quickly.

“Oh, right!” exclaimed Eren, attempting to sound like his old self. “You haven’t met Mikasa yet, have you?”

The change of topic was a success as the blond turned curious blue eyes towards the raven haired girl. Eren hurriedly introduced the both of them, explaining in a few words the girl’s situation. Armin seemed interested and Mikasa happy to meet someone who understood her recent loss. Eren watched the both of them chatting animatedly feeling torn.

He was happy to see Armin again. Really, he was. But he was also afraid. It seemed everything was pushing him to forget about his time in Oz. Levi had left. Mikasa had arrived making it definitely impossible for him to wander towards the underground. Armin had come back forcing him to call back the child he had been. Life was becoming disturbingly normal, regressing to what it had once been. Except he had changed. He was no longer that unsuspecting child who looked at the sky wondering what the real one looked like. He didn’t look up to search for birds. No. When he looked up it was in an effort to recall Levi’s figure soaring the skies with his 3DGM. He could only pray that Armin wouldn’t notice.

He didn’t seem too.

During the months that followed the three children created strong bonds of friendship. If Eren appeared different, Armin hadn’t mentioned it. He simply got to know this new, slightly different, and maybe a bit colder version of Eren. He and Mikasa got along well. And it seemed to the brunet that they got on especially well when they were both fussing over him.

While he kept on his façade of an almost normal child, he kept his ear open in case news from the Survey Corp arrived. He had heard that they had left on an expedition soon after he had met Mikasa. He assumed Isabelle, Farlan and Levi had left the Walls. They said physical distance brings your heart closer to people. That was a complete lie. The further away they were, the more unclear Eren’s memories of them became. He felt detached from that time in Oz. It almost scared him.


	21. Wearing a Mask - Part 5

A year had almost passed since the last time he had seen Levi when the Survey Corp came back. As soon as he heard the news, Eren had hurried to the main road where they were supposed to be. In that respect he supposed it was lucky that Shiganshina was so close to the Gate. At least, he could get a glimpse of the trio. He wouldn’t be able to talk to them and it would be best if they didn’t see him. He couldn’t afford to let Mikasa and Armin know. There would be questions asked and he could not answer them. And as his two friends were always at his heels there was no chance of him sneaking away to see Levi, Isabelle and Farlan.

Seeing them would be good enough. Or at least that was what he told himself as he raced through the village, bumping into passer-byes as he went, with Mikasa and Armin running after him.

“Eren! Wait!” called the raven haired girl behind him.

She and Armin were being a lot more careful and took care not to bump into anyone, as well as apologizing for their friend’s behaviour. As such their progress was considerably slowed down.

“Eren!” she called again as the brunet finally reached the main street. It was packed. People were assembled on the pavement, watching the soldiers marching towards the upper floors. A lot of them wore bloodied bandages and most had their shoulders slumped as if discouraged.

Eren’s blue-green eyes darted around, gazing at the soldiers looking for the familiar faces. The first he saw was Erwin Smith. He was easily spottable as he was riding in the lead. Eren’s eyes briefly flashed gold as directed a hatred-filled glare at the blonde Commander. Right after the blonde came Levi, looking bored and disgruntled. The brunet’s eyes immediately softened as he took in the silky raven hair, the unreadable silver eyes and the thin lips set in a straight line.

He hadn’t changed. He looked maybe a little bit more tired. And he might be even more unreadable than before. But none of it mattered to Eren. This was Levi. His Levi. Alive and well as far as he could see. He allowed himself a small smile before looking away. It wouldn’t do for his friends to notice him staring so intently at someone he wasn’t supposed to know.

For Mikasa and Armin had finally made it to his side and were also watching the soldiers though they were not as interested in the grim procession as the brunet.

Eren made no sign of acknowledging them and continued looking amongst the crowd of green capes. He looked for the distinctive spiky red hair and when he couldn’t find it, resolved to look for Farlan’s blonde hair. Again there was no sign of him. As the soldiers marched on and more than half had passed by already, Eren grew more and more worried. He searched frantically for any sign of Isabelle and Farlan. His eyes, turned green with worry, darted from one end to another, examining every face, every feature. When at last he looked at the last soldier of the line and didn’t recognize him, he admitted that he wouldn’t find them. They weren’t there. They were dead.

He looked blankly at an empty space on the other side of the road.

Dead. They were dead.

He would never see them again.

That time he had seen them being captured by the Survey Corp, had been the last time he had seen them. He had been so desperate to stop Levi from leaving that he hadn’t thought to say anything to them. When was the last time he had talked to them? What had he said then? Had they died painfully? Had they been happy? Had they remembered him?

Mechanically, he turned away from the emptying street and started walking. Mikasa and Armin followed him. His state of shock went unnoticed, well hidden under his mask. They must have thought him thoughtful. Even though he was really grieving.

“I’m going to join the Survey Corp.” he said before he knew he was going to say anything.

And he realized as he heard his own words that it was true. All he could think of was Levi. He had lost Isabelle and Farlan but he had Levi. He had Levi. He would go to him. He would join the Survey Corp.

When later, Mikasa broke the news to his parents on his behalf, Eren realized it would have been smarter to keep it for himself. He should have known that the raven haired girl with her delusions of needing to protect him would immediately inform Carla and Grisha Jaeger. Grisha didn’t seem bothered but Carla was. His mother fiercely opposed it.

“It’s not stupid!” he had yelled at her. “The silly ones are the villagers who are content with living like livestock!”

The next day when he had felt the first tremor, he had a feeling he would come to regret saying those words. As he ran towards the wall, he somehow knew he had repeated his mistake. Deep within, he understood that he was going to lose his loved one yet again. And as he looked up at the gigantic humanoid creature which had broken the Wall, he knew it was because he was weak.

Though he wasn’t aware of it, that day marked the end of his peaceful days. It was the day he was thrown into a tormented current which would take him to his exile.


	22. A World's End

It couldn’t be true.

Levi was staring at Erwin, wide-eyed. His unbelieving grey eyes were the only sign of his inner chaos. He stared blankly at the blonde man, his brain unwilling to process the words the Commander had just spoken.

“It can’t be true.” he murmured, voicing his echoing thoughts.

Erwin looked at him pityingly, while the soldiers who had heard the short exchange watched the uncharacteristic behaviour of the Corporal with amazement and maybe a hint of worry.

“You’re lying.” he knew it wasn’t true the moment he said it.

But he couldn’t help it. He wanted it to be a lie. A bad dream, a nightmare, he would soon wake up from. It couldn’t be true. He wouldn’t let it.

“I’m sorry Levi.” said the blonde gently, but firmly. “It’s the truth, you have to accept it.”

“No.” he lamented quietly as his word came crashing down.

Vivid green eyes flashed in his memory, a bright smile and suddenly he was seeing it replaying in front of his eyes. Isabelle and Farlan rushing towards the Titan. Him rushing to get there in time. The gigantic hand that had grabbed Isabelle. The arm that had whipped Farlan away. The teeth which gnawed on their body. The blood spraying in the air like deep red petals…

“What’s going on? What’s Levi making that face for?”

He barely heard Hanji’s irritating voice as she came up behind him, giving Erwin a questioning glance. Seeing that the Corporal was too far gone to react, the Commander took it upon himself to explain.

“Maria has fallen. It seems the first district to have been destroyed was Shiganshina.” he paused. “And of course, Oz as well.” he ended slowly, glancing worriedly at Levi.

Hanji emitted a small ‘oh’ of comprehension. She and Erwin then proceeded to stand awkwardly in front of Levi, visibly not knowing what to do. The silence stretched on and they started exchanging concerned looks, while fidgeting nervously.

“I’m going.” announced Levi suddenly, his voice a tad too loud.

“What?!” was the strangled cry of both his fellow officers.

“You can’t go there, Levi! It’s a contaminated zone and it’s crawling with Titans!” refused Erwin, recovering quickly. “I won’t let you go.”

The look the raven haired soldier sent him was so full of venom that Erwin was afraid his heart would stop right there and then. In one swift movement Levi took a step forward and grabbed the other man by the collar.

“Right now, you and Titans are number one on my ‘must-murder’ list.” the ex-assassin started his quiet voice carrying eerily in the shocked silence that had fallen around them. “I was planning to start by destroying Titans, but I swear if you try to stop me, I’ll just kill you right away.” his threat finished in a hiss which sent chills down the Commander’s spine.

The next day, a rushed expedition was organized in order to visit the remains of what had once been the nest of all evil. Erwin, Hanji and, of course, Levi galloped out of Roze and into Maria, accompanied by a small team of brave soldiers. The gas mask firmly attached on Levi’s face hid his expression from view. His eyes however held a harshness mixed a desperate determination thath left no room for doubt.

They were lucky. Barely any Titans met their route. The few who did were ruthlessly massacred by the short raven. Single-handedly.

They arrived relatively quickly in Oz. The city was in ruins. It therefore came as a surprise to Erwin when Levi barely glanced at the remains. Instead, the raven haired Corporal bolted towards an alley, the others hurrying after him. When the soldiers arrived, Levi was already attacking a pile of rocks. It seemed grief gave him a monstrous strength for the rocks were quickly kicked away, soon followed by the panel of wood that was revealed.

As soon as the hidden entrance was opened, Levi rushed down the stairs, seemingly not bothered by the darkness. The others, slightly baffled, followed him at a slower pace. They had to hurry once out of the tunnel so as to not lose sight of the small figure darting past dead bodies and houses crushed under enormous rocks. Lifting his eyes, Erwin soon understood what had happened. The ceiling had broken down, probably under the weight of the Titans.

“He’s going towards the cliff.” commented Hanji as she rushed past.

Erwin gazed back to the front. Levi had already crossed to the other side of the city and was not planning on slowing down it seemed.

As he entered the ‘Sacred Grounds’ Levi finally smelt the stench. Death everywhere. He quickly glanced away when he spotted a wrinkled hand emerging from what had been Grandma Arabelle’s house. He couldn’t stop himself from glancing with morbid curiosity at the place where Katia’s orphanage had been. He stopped abruptly upon seeing the pale corpse of the blonde woman. Dazed he walked towards her and knelt looking at the wide terrified eyes, and the ice-cold skin.

“Someone you know?” asked Hanji softly landing behind him.

He didn’t reply but stood up quickly. He was scared suddenly. He wanted to see Eren. Not his corpse, but a living and smiling Eren.

He hurried towards the cliff, but slowed upon realizing it wasn’t there. What he had known as a cliff was now a pile of jagged rocks. He stopped at last, limp like a puppet, facing the rocks under which, no doubt, Eren was buried. A part of him was glad that the boy’s corpse was nowhere in sight. He had hope.

It was short-lived for his eye caught a flash of green. His breath stuck in his throat and felt himself die as he reached out for the green scarf. Eren’s scarf. Caught in the rocks. The one which had never left his neck since the day he had received it. At least, not while he was alive. He freed the beloved piece of wool from its rocky prison and held it in front of him.

“He’s dead.” he murmured. “He’s dead.”

And as those words faded away in the silent ruin, he closed off his heart, letting nothing but rage and the desire to kill enter it.

He would annihilate Titans. When he was done with them, there wouldn’t be even one left! And then it would be Erwin’s turn, if he lived until then! He would take his revenge. On Titans, on Erwin Smith and on the world. And once that was done…they would be together again. Forever.


	23. Path to Freedom - Part 1

It had been five years and he had counted every single day. Five years since he had seen Hell. Five years since Wall Maria had been broken. It had been the outermost wall at first and only the first floor had been broken in but it hadn’t been long before the other floors were conquered as well. Conquered by the Titans. He could remember clearly the events of the day.

He had been sleeping on a grassy mound near the village. He was supposed to pick wood for his mother but taking a nap had seemed an attractive prospect at the time. He had dreamt. He couldn’t remember what it had been about the moment he awoke but he had a lingering feeling that it had been about Levi. The tear that had slid down his cheek had confirmed that hypothesis. He couldn’t imagine what else in this world could possibly make him teary.

He had wiped it away quickly when Mikasa had called him. A moment later she was hovering over him, words he didn’t bother listening to leaving her mouth.

It had been when they had been walking into the town that everything had taken a turn for the worse. It was then that they felt the first tremors. The ground had shook lightly at first before it shook so much that it was difficult to stay on one’s feet. Pots and other things crashed to the grounds and people looked at each other bewildered, in the silence that followed. It didn’t last long for with another great tremor the part of wall closest to them exploded. A gaping hole could be seen in the next, a gigantic foot peering through it.

Chaos had followed.

In a moment the rest of the wall crumbled down and giants, Titans as he had learned they were called, entered the city. Amidst the screams and general panic, Eren, Mikasa and Armin had fled. His first thought had been for his mother waiting at home. He had broken into a run, not caring that he was running way faster than he probably should in front of his two friends. But this was not the time to care about such trivial things. He had lost Isabelle, Farlan and even Levi. He wasn’t about to lose anyone else. Or so he thought.

Naïve thoughts he realized as his mother was ripped apart by a Titan, her blood floating in like red flower petals. If the scene hadn’t been so horrifying it might have been beautiful, in a poetic way.

After that, Hannes had taken them, Mikasa, Armin and him, to the boats. They had fled. It was then that with a nasty twist of his stomach, Eren thought of Oz. Oz was closer to the wall than Shiganshina it would have been destroyed by now. Images of Grandma Arabelle, Grandpa Tom and Katia had flashed before his eyes. He had felt sick. So horribly sick. And then anger had taken over.

An anger like one he hadn’t felt since Erwin Smith had taken Levi away from him. A rare, destructive wrath. His eyes had blazed golden as he had stood up, his features twisted in a mask of pure hatred. It was the face of a demon, the face he had been hiding for so long.

“I’ll destroy them.” he had sworn, gripping the boat’s side so hard that his knuckles went white. “I’ll kill every last one of them.”

All those who dared mess with those precious to him would pay the price. With blood. Whether they be Titans or humans didn’t matter. He would make sure they suffered.

It had been five years since then and he was finally old enough to join the army as a trainee. He was standing in line now, the instructor slowly walking past them, eyeing them disdainfully. Armin and Mikasa were there as well. He had grown distant with them in those five years. There were only two things on his mind: revenge and Levi. Anything else was secondary. Armin and Mikasa had not failed to notice the change in Eren. They placed the blame on trauma, or whatever. He scared them sometimes, he knew he did. They had seen him kill people in cold blood and it had petrified them. Yet, they had refused to abandon him. Even though he didn’t really care.

He was a bit saner lately. The prospect of seeing Levi soon anchored him. It drew out the old Eren. The one who had happily run in the streets of Oz, who took naps with Levi in the afternoons and who promised to go and see the ocean with older boy. That promise gave him hope.

He met the instructor’s gaze and returned it full force, his striking blue eyes cold and unforgiving, promising a world of hurt to those who dared cross him.

Soon, he promised himself. Soon, he would see Levi. And then, the old Eren would come back. Maybe then, he could smile again.


	24. Path to Freedom - Part 2

Strangely enough, being in the military environment of the training camp did wanders for Eren’s mood. He had gotten used to feeling perpetually angry and had even been slightly surprised that his eyes hadn’t turned gold for good. But after just a few hours of sweating it out in training, he felt calmer than he had in long years. He supposed it was the fact that he was finally doing _something_ that appeased him. He could see himself moving towards his goal. Not only revenge anymore, but also his dream. The one he and Levi had dreamt of together, the one they had once promised to fulfil. He wasn’t happy, but he was satisfied and that was already far more than he had expected.

It was evening now and they were all, which was to say all the trainees of the 104th trainee squad, assembled in the mess hall for dinner. Dinner was composed of soup and a piece of bread. Not much and yet already far more than he had had on most days. Mikasa and Armin were sitting alongside him, but they weren’t talking. No one really was.

Eren glanced around curiously. Guess people were tired. Some weren’t exactly fit and even the mild training they had that day had taken a toll on them.

The only one who seemed to be energetic enough to make a raucous was a guy a few tables away with light brown hair, cut shorter on the sides. He was talking loudly with his neighbour, a dark haired guy with freckles, apparently not minding that everyone could hear him. Eren frowned. The guy was obnoxious. His voice was sort of getting on Eren’s nerves. Another loud comment made Eren grit his teeth. He would bear with it. He could keep his cool.

“Of course I’m aiming for the military police.” the guy was saying to friend super loudly. “It’s the obvious choice really. Who’d choose to go out and get eaten when you can live a life of comfort in the upper floors of Sina?”

Eren slammed his hands on the table and got up.

“Will you shut the fuck up?” he hissed in the eerie silence following his outburst. “Nobody really cares about how much of a coward you are. So will you shut your mouth and let people eat in peace?”

He appeared calm in a calm-before-the-storm kind of way and people around him started to back off. He didn’t pay them any attention, focusing on glaring at the horse-faced bastard.

The guy’s eyes narrowed and he got up as well, extracting himself from the bench and advancing towards the alley between rows of tables. Eren did the same.

“What the hell is your problem, Jaeger?” snarled the other guy.

How he knew Eren’s name, he had no idea. He almost felt bad for not knowing who the hell the guy was. Almost.

“My problem is that your half-witted monologue is giving me a headache horse-face.” he answered coolly, moving slightly in an imperceptible guard.

“Bastard.” the guy’s mutter was the only warning before he launched at Eren fist raised.

Horse-face wasn’t half bad for a random guy, but he was nowhere near good enough. Eren saw the fist and easily avoided it, retaliating with a hook to his opponent’s stomach. He purposefully took a hit to the side so that he could take advantage of the wide opening it created. A well placed kick sent the guy flying. Eren was there in a flash, gripping the boy’s collar and slamming him against the floor. He jumped back at the other tried to kick. The guy scrambled to his feet and they faced each other once more.

When the guy attacked again and Eren readied to counter, he had a sudden realization. This was bad. He knew instinctively how to best hit the guy to kill him. Or at least, he was pretty sure the blow would kill an untrained guy like he was. Which was bad. In the second it took for the blow to connect, Eren mustered all his willpower and forced back his instinctive reaction. The result was that he took a hit instead. He staggered backwards a bit, furrowing his brow as he thought of the best way to settle the fight without damage. It was surprisingly difficult. He had never fought without intent to kill before and he realized suddenly that it was a lot easier to take someone’s life than not.

Horse-face took Eren’s withdrawal as a sign of weakness and redoubled his blows. They were clumsy but in-between taming his lethal reflexes and trying to think of a way to not kill the guy, Eren took quite a few hits.

“That’s enough.” said Mikasa’s stern voice as she firmly pushed them apart.

As much as Eren hated to leave a fight unfinished, he was glad that the girl had intervened. He could feel his fist inching to deal the finishing blow and he wasn’t sure if he could have held back much longer. He settled for sending a disgusted look towards the horse-faced bastard before walking out of the mess hall. Footsteps followed him out. Mikasa he guessed.

He didn’t stop walking until he was well away from the Hall. He sat on the elevated wooden floor of one of the barracks and only then did he look at Mikasa.

“What?” he asked lifting an eyebrow at her.

“I told you not to be reckless. This could have gone very badly.”

Eren snorted. She was so right and yet so wrong. She thought he would have been beaten up. As is. The one in danger was the Horse-Face, not him.

“Whatever.” he said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

She sighed loudly but didn’t insist. He fixed his turquoise gaze at some spot on the ground and didn’t look up again, as the girl’s footsteps retreated in the darkness. A few minutes passed in silence as Eren mulled over what had nearly transpired. He really needed to be careful in the future. He would have to learn to hold back.

“You were holding back, weren’t you?”

He lifted his head so quickly it was a wonder he didn’t hurt himself. He stared at the girl who was now standing in front of him. She was medium-sized, with blond hair tied in a bun. Her eyes were as cold as a river in winter and she had an expression that said she was bored as Hell. She was built for combat.

“I thought you were going to kill Jean at some point.” she said, her casual tone completely inadequate.

“Jean?” he repeated dumbly.

Something like interest flashed in her eyes.

“Jean Kirchstein. The one you were beating up?” she said.

“Oh.” he frowned.

Who the Hell was this girl? She had obviously seen right through him and he couldn’t tell if she was a threat or not.

“Who are you?” he asked suspiciously.

“Annie.”

She seemed to consider they were done with the conversation or maybe she had used up her word quota for the month, whatever it was she turned around and walked away without another word.

“Nice to meet you too.” said Eren sarcastically to the night.


	25. Path to Freedom - Part 3

Butting heads with Jean Kirchstein in-between training sessions became a rather common occurrence for Eren. His impression of the other teenager as an obnoxious bastard stuck and he kept finding new aspects of the boy he disliked. His rivalry with the Horse-Face (as he was now commonly referred to in Eren’s mind) had, however, opened him to other trainees. There were actually a good number of them who shared his opinion of Jean. He had therefore become acquainted with most other trainees.

He had of course met Annie Leonhardt, who was as antisocial as she looked and with who he hadn’t interacted since their first meeting. Sasha Braus, he had noticed quickly as well, as the girl had had the guts to eat a potato during the debriefing on the first day. She had been sentenced to run until death. Well, not really but until she fell alright, which had ended up being surprisingly late. Christa Lenz was a petite blonde girl with wide blue eyes and was practically a saint. Marco Bodt, the dark haired boy who had sat next to Jean on the first evening, was her male counterpart in that respect. Then there was Ymir who stuck to Christa like glue. Connie Springer, a monkey of a boy who had a great sense of humour, Bertholdt and Reiner who were nice enough if a little mysterious.

Training was going well. They had covered basic training and were now moving on to learning how to use 3DGM. There had been that annoying episode where Eren hadn’t been able to stay upright with th exercise device which held them ump in the air thanks to cables. It was meant to simulate the basic posture while using 3DGM and it was the one thing which would tell whether or not you were suited to be a soldier. It had been extremely frustrating for Eren to find himself unable to stay upright when he _knew_ he could do it. Levi had often told him that the position was really easy to achieve since it felt so natural. Yet he had to gather all his abdominal strength in order to get there. When Armin who was built like a fucking daffodil got it right the first time, he became suspicious. He asked Shadis if he could exchange his belt with someone else’s and try that way.

He had been agreeably surprised when the stern instructor had nodded without argument. Reiner had lent him his belt and he had gone up. And just like that he was in the air. Boy did it feel great, especially since he had the satisfaction to know that he didn’t in fact suck. He had met Shadis’ look and the man had nodded muttering that he was a natural before moving on to tell everyone that Eren’s belt was defective and that an equipment check would be carried out.

That had already been a while ago though. They had moved on to actually flying and practicing killing Titans. They had had a theory course on the right method before they moved to field practice. Titans were way trickier than Eren could have imagined. They regenerated very quickly and the only way to kill was to cut at the back of their neck.

From what they had learnt, Titans had appeared because of the pollution. At least that was what they thought. They actually had no idea what Titans were or where they had come from, only that they populated polluted areas. The reason why their existence had been kept from the public this long was because the King wanted to avoid panic.

Because that had so worked well. Right.

Anyway, Eren was pleased to note that he was damn good at slicing the Titan-shaped targets. When he completed his exercises quickly and had extra time he would try out moves he had seen Levi perform all those years ago. It didn’t always work out, but he felt a little closer to the boy he had known this way. He was growing more and more restless with each days passing. He simply couldn’t wait anymore. He wanted to see Levi.

And finally, a year after they had started training, the day came for them to choose their orientation. Garrison, Survey Corp or Military Police. Eren’s choice was obvious.

But before the wondrous moment of choice came, they had to guard Roze’s outer wall. They had been dispatched in teams and Eren was in charge of his own group which had Sasha, Connie, a guy called Thomas, and another named Franz, as well as Thomas’ girlfriend, a nice girl called Hannah.

The assignment wasn’t exactly hard. At least it shouldn’t have been. The tough aspect of the business was that you had to stand by doing next to nothing next to a wall. And that was it. Pretty boring. Sometimes there was some good in boring things. But Eren only realized that later.

After all went to Hell a second time.

Eren recognized the tremors right away. He had been there five years before when they had first been felt and so he knew instantly what was going to happen.

“GET AWAY FROM THE WALL!” he bellowed to his comrades, losing no time in racing away from it himself.

He was soon followed by the others and they were just in time as the next moment the place they had been standing in was covered by gigantic pieces of wall.

“Put your masks on.” ordered Eren once again taking the lead.

He then waited for the Titan to break the rest of the wall and as soon as they were in the open, he took flight. In a matter of seconds he was behind the Colossal Titan, twin swords raised. But just as his blades were about to cut the creatures’ skin Eren was caught in a cloud of hot steam. He shut his eyes for a second and when he opened them again, there was no Titan to be seen.

“What. The. Fuck.”


	26. Side Story - A lifetime ago

He couldn’t remember ever crying before that day. He supposed he might have cried the day of his birth. All babies did. He couldn’t be _that_ abnormal. But even if he had shed a few tears in his childhood he knew he had never cried as he did when the reality of Eren’s death finally sunk in.

He had felt sick when he had seen the corpses of those he had once known. Grandma Arabelle’s hand, Grandpa Tom whom he knew was buried under the same pile of ricks as the woman he had spent his aged days arguing with, and Katia. Katia who had tended his injuries when he was just a child. Katia who laughed when he came grumbling to her door. Katia who had smiled tenderly when he had first brought Isabelle. Ever so kind Katia. Looking at her cold dead body made his stomach twist sickeningly and a wave of nausea wash threw him.

But that feeling was nothing compared to that of losing Eren.

He remembered being a wreck after Isabelle and Farlan had died. The images of Titans grabbing them and devouring them kept flashing in front of his eyes and the knowledge that it was his pride that had killed them choked him. His little sister and his best friend. If he hadn’t left them on their own. If he hadn’t gone after Erwin. If he hadn’t accepted the goddamn job.

But even that grief could not compare to this.

His eyes were fixed on the green scarf which held in his trembling hands. Eren, little Eren, had died. He felt the tear roll down his cheek and he heard the strangled cry that tore his throat. But this wasn’t him. Because he knew now that he couldn’t exist without Eren. How could he? Eren’s smile. Eren’s warm hands. Eren’s laughter. Eren’s eyes. Eren’s anger. Eren’s dreams.

How could it all be gone? He couldn’t accept it. There was no point in a world where Eren didn’t exist.

He had been vaguely aware of his fellow soldiers watching him cry over the piece of green wool. Any other day, he would have been ashamed to show such weakness. But that day he hadn’t given a damn. Eren was dead and it was all that mattered.

Supposedly grief came in five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. He had cleared denial when Erwin had told him about the Titan attack. Anger had come after the desperation. After his tears had dried out, he had felt the anger surging. A murderous anger which knew no limit. Bargaining he had done as well. He couldn’t stop himself from wondering what would have happened if he hadn’t taken the job ok killing Erwin. What then? Would Eren have lived or would they have both died? Both seemed a lot better than surviving alone.

Acceptance, however, had never come. As it was, the anger had never left him. It was what motivated him to keep living. It fuelled the thirst for revenge which made his only goal. It was his only way out. Bargaining had been so fleeting a stage that he even wondered if he really had made it to the fourth step. Maybe he hadn’t.

He probably never would.

He had seen many other deaths in the five years which followed Eren’s death. Other people said _the Fall of Maria_ but it would always _Eren’s death_ in his mind. He had kept a trace of every soldier who had fallen during that time. He cut the insignia of the Wings of Freedom which was on the cloak of Survey Corps’ members. He had a whole drawer of them by now. But he didn’t mope over those. The only times he ever opened the drawer was to place more insignia’s in it. He would take one forlorn look at them then, before closing the drawer once more.

It was the other drawer which he opened regularly. Every time he came back from a mission. Every day he felt the emptiness in his heart gnawing at him. Every day he saw a particularly gruesome death. He would open the drawer.

He would look at its contents with a sorrowful tenderness which he showed no one else. He would remember warm summers and cold winters. Blue skies and black birds. Dreams of expanses of salty water. _Oceans_.

They had dreamt of seeing it, lying on the grass and the weight of a small head on his stomach. He had listened to the excited babble, his eyes half-shut, a sliver of blue was all that he could see. They had made a promise. _Will you keep me your promise? Only if you keep yours_. But he hadn’t. And now it was all long gone. Nor the place nor the protagonists existed anymore. It was now as palpable as a dream. Maybe even less so.

Pale fingers would delicately caress the fabric of the green scarf lying in the wooden case.

 _Soon_ , he would silently promise the empty room.

_Soon, I’ll come to you._


	27. Wings of Freedom - Part 1

The plan had been simple: regroup. The problem was that Titans had surged inside the Walls as soon as the stone façade had been broken. This made regrouping considerably harder. At the moment, they had managed to join Jean’s team which consisted of Marco Bodt, Armin Arlert, Mylius Zeramuski and Nac Tius. Looking around at his ten companions, Eren couldn’t help but wonder how many would make it.

They were flying towards the inner wall where the base of operation was. They had a silent agreement to avoid fighting as much as they could. The objective was to survive and get to headquarters. There they would be given their next orders.

Out of the corner of his eye, Eren detected the smiling face of a Titan. He turned his head slightly to get a better look. It looked like a sixteen meter class but…He swore.

“Aberrant!” he yelled.

As one, the two teams split their formation in order to escape. Unfortunately, Tomas who was in the rear with Eren wasn’t fast enough and a giant hand grabbed him by the waist.

He knew he shouldn’t look but his green eyes were fixed in morbid fascination on the writhing form of his comrade. He saw the giant jaw open. The hand raise its prey to the wide open mouth. The two set of teeth closing. Blood flowing.

He looked away. Mylius had seen as well if his terrified expression was any indication.

“Don’t look back.” ordered Eren.

He sounded calmer than he felt. No, that was a lie. He felt so calm it was scary. His emotions were dull, his mind clear. The plan came to him easily. He gathered some speed and joined Jean at the front of the formation.

“I’ll attract them.” he told him, his voice sounding too casual considering the situation.

“What the fuck are you on about?” yelled Jean, glancing at him.

He was putting on a tough front, but Eren could see past it. Jean was scared. He wouldn’t be able to make smart decisions like this.

“Calm down and listen to me.”

He couldn’t recognize himself in that voice. Where was the child who had rushed towards Erwin Smith in order to murder him so many years ago? Where was the hot headed soldier who had attempted to kill the Colossal Titan just a few minutes ago? Apparently nowhere in sight.

“I’m going to attract the Titans away from you.” he told Jean. “You keep going towards the inner wall. You have to lead the others.”

A scream behind them. Where Mylius had been was an empty hole in their formation.

“Are you crazy?!” screamed Jean, his expression reflecting shock, disbelief and fear.

Eren smiled easily, his visible features relaxing.

“What’s my nickname?”

Jean looked at him. He seemed to be calming down a little. Seeing his rival so cool and level-headed was bringing back his usual self.

“Damn you, Suicidal Bastard.” he grumbled. “You better make it, I don’t want to have to tell Mikasa you died a dog’s death on a suicide mission.”

Eren grinned under his mask, his eyes shining with mirth.

“Don’t look back.” was his last instruction.

He turned around easily, flying away from his comrades and towards the Titans. Before he could reach their first pursuer, it grabbed Nac. The dark haired boy was swallowed without so much as a scream.

The teen’s eyes flashed gold.

“THE ONE YOU WANT IS ME YOU FUCKERS!”

Giant’s eyes turned towards him, their attention successfully diverted from his team to his lonely figure. It wouldn’t be enough provocation though. He knew that. One human was not better than a group of them and he doubted they had a brain capable of deciphering his insults. With these thoughts in mind, he sent his cables flying towards the nearest mound of flesh.

He felt his lips stretch into a bloodthirsty smile. If he hadn’t been wearing a mask he could probably have entered the competition for the creepiest smile.

Abandoning all pretence of mediocrity and pulling out his full potential, he swung himself in the air at top speed, easily manoeuvring himself behind the Titans head and slicing the back of its neck in one clean motion. He landed on the quickly falling Titan’s head and stared challengingly at the Titans around him. That seemed to do it. He wasn’t sure if they were attracted by the steam of by the strength of the prey but they rushed towards him, forgetting the group which was quickly distancing itself from them.

“Come on then, you bunch of blundering bastards. See if you can catch me.”

He left his plummeting perch throwing himself into the air and flew away as fast as he could. This time he wasn’t going towards the inner wall. He was going towards the outer wall. Towards certain death.

***

Levi was fed up. They had been galloping all day and his ass was starting to hurt. They were on their way back from their last expedition. The losses were thankfully lesser than they could have been. In fact, it was somewhat strange that they hadn’t encountered more Titans. Where were the fuckers when you needed them? At least, an aberrant or two would make the whole trip a little more entertaining. There was nothing like cutting into your sworn enemy to make a long ride worth it.

Except they hadn’t even seen one three meter class Titan. Something felt wrong about the situation.

“Commander!”

The yell had come from a scout who had just returned and was galloping towards them. Well towards Erwin really. But since the blonde was riding next to him, it was the same difference really.

“The outer Wall has been breached sir.” yelled the scout. “The Titans are invading as we speak.”

Levi swore colourfully.

“Erwin! I’m taking my team and going there first. They’ll need all the help they can get.”

And he would be able to get off the damn horse way faster.

The blonde looked uncertain.

“All right.” he said at last. “You and Hanji take your teams and go, we’ll catch up as soon as we can.”

Levi needed no further instruction to send his horse leaping forward, his team hot on his heels.

Finally some entertainment.


	28. Wings of Freedom - Part 2

It killed him to admit it but this was the one time where he, Jean Kirschtein, actually wished Eren-fucking-Jaeger was around. They were reluctant friends at best and best enemies more often than not, so he had never thought he would _ever_ think this. But there it was. The feeling that damn, he wished the fucking bastard was alright, because fuck he had just basically sacrificed his life for them. He felt shitty.

He glanced around, taking in the sombre expressions of his surviving comrades. Sasha and Connie were huddled together, silent for once. Marco was sitting against the wall not far away from them. Thomas and Hanna were there as well, clinging to each other for dear life. Armin was hugging himself, his baby blue eyes swimming with tears. All the others had died. Well, all except Eren. Hopefully.

They had managed to get to the inner wall without too much trouble. All thanks to that Suicidal Bastard. His head sank into his hands, a lump of guilt and worry settling in his throat.

“Fuck.”

His groan caught the attention of the others. He looked back up. They all looked worried and scared. At the moment he was surrounded by soldiers but by children who had lived through their worst nightmare. Don’t look back, Eren had said. He understood now the true meaning of that order.

He got to his feet and faced them with determination.

“Get up, all of you.” he told them trying to keep his voice from wavering. “We’ve moped long enough. Now, we need to move on. Our gas supplies are running low, so our first objective will be to reach the reserve. It’s not that far. We can make it.” he looked around, eyes burning with a cold fire. “All of us. We’ll get to the tower and replenish our supplies. The others will probably do that too so it will be killing two birds with one stone.”

Silence followed his words.

“Come on.” he urged them. “We lost our comrades. Eren gave up his life so that we could go to safety. Are we going to waste their sacrifices? Are we going to just sit there and wait for a Titan to pick us up like good little snacks?!”

At last, his words seemed to have an effect. Connie scrambled to his feet, his legs were shaking but he forced a small smile on his lips as he looked at Jean. He nodded at his comrade encouragingly. Sasha was next, immediately followed by Marco who addressed a bright smile to Jean. Hannah and Thomas tried to look firm as they nodded at him.

Jean looked at Armin. The blond looked so shocked and utterly lost that he wondered if he had even heard him talking. He went to kneel in front of the boy.

“Hey.” he said softly. “I know this is hard. But Eren isn’t dead yet and neither are we.”

Teary blue eyes looked up at him.

“We’re going to get those supplies, reunite with the others and then we can counter attack. We might make it in time for Eren and if we don’t…” he paused. “Well, we will at least avenge his death properly. We owe him that much.”

The blonde sniffled and nodded.

“Yeah.” he croaked.

Jean smiled encouragingly and gave the blond’s shoulder a comforting pat.

“Come on.” he said, helping the boy to his feet.

He then turned to the others, a hand still placed on Armin’s shoulder. He gave it a comforting squeeze before giving the order.

“Let’s move out!”

***

He didn’t know how long he had been fleeing from the gigantic hands which made grabs for him. But he was still going and that had to count for something. Whenever he saw a good opportunity he would kill a couple of his pursuers before continuing his course. But he wouldn’t be able to keep going for long. His gas supply was running low.

He hadn’t really thought he would make it out alive but the possibility had definitely existed at the back of his mind. It didn’t anymore.

Funnily enough, the prospect of dying in itself didn’t faze him. It was the idea that he would never see Levi again which made his heart squeeze painfully and made him draw out what gas he had left in hopes of a miracle. There would be no miracle, he knew that. Miracles didn’t happen. If they did, Levi would never have had to go, Farlan and Isabelle would be alive. The Walls wouldn’t have been broken and he wouldn’t be there running for his life.

No miracles didn’t happen.

But at least he would die with the pride of having saved his comrades. Jean and the others had made it. They had to. Because he refused to have done all this for nothing. He would make them reach safety even if he had to do it with sheer willpower alone. They would live to see another sunrise, even if _he_ couldn’t.

Yes, he would continue running. Going as far as he could before he ran out of gas. He would do everything he could. That way, he could die without regretting anything. At least not anything more. His only regret would Levi.

His 3DGM sputtered. He fell. He managed to ease the fall by rolling on himself. It was a good thing he had managed to fall on a roof. He scrambled to his feet and watched as a swarm of Titans ran towards him. He placed himself on guard. If he was going down, he would at least go down fighting.

A single tear rolled down his cheek, losing itself in the folds of his black mask.

“Levi, I love you.” he murmured to himself.

A hand reached for him and he leapt forward.


	29. Wings of Freedom - Part 3

It was Hell. If he had had any doubts before, he didn’t have any anymore. Jean and his ragged team were flying as fast as they could while using as little gas as possible towards the supplies’ tower. Titans were everywhere and it was challenging to avoid them all. They charged on, knowing full well that they couldn’t stop to fight them. They didn’t have enough gas. The best they could do was run as fast as they could and pray they would get there.

“Come on, we’re nearly there.” shouted Jean.

He didn’t dare look back. Didn’t dare see who was still behind him and who wasn’t. His biggest fear at the moment was to turn round and see no one.

 _Fuck_. This was getting to him _. Fuck_. Eren would have been so much better for this. _Fuck_. Eren.

The tower was right in front of them now. Gathering every last ounce of courage and determination he had, he threw his cable forward and started climbing. Hands were still reaching out at them, like overgrown babies trying to catch flies. He weaved around them, avoiding them without knowing for sure how he managed it. For a wild moment he thought that maybe Eren had died and was now lending his spirit to Jean so that he’d make it alive. He banished the thought. Eren was alive. He had to be. _Fuck. If I make it, I’ll join the Survey Corp, Eren. Forget the Military Police, I’m going to avenge you._

The next moment he crashed in the window, sending glass flying everywhere. His gas ran out just as he flew inside. He rolled to the ground ending his course against a table. He turned just in time to see Connie, Sasha and Armin land inside. He waited but no one else came.

“Damn it.” he scrambled to his feet. “Damn it, Marco. Fuck. Hannah and Thomas, too. Fuck.”

Now that they were safe, the fear, the uncertainty and grief all came back to him. Guilt choked him. Had he made the wrong decision? Was getting here really worth losing half his companions?

A hand came to rest on his shoulder.

“You did the best you could, Jean. Don’t blame yourself.”

It was Armin. The blond’s voice was trembling and his hand was shaking against Jean’s back. But hell, he was trying. He felt pathetic suddenly.

“You and Eren…” he choked on his words. “You and Eren were the best leaders we could have had. You got us here safe. You did well.”

“Armin.” he met the blond’s eyes. “I’m sorry about Eren.”

The other boy blinked back tears.

“What do you mean? What happened to Eren?”

He looked up upon hearing the familiar female voice.

“Ymir?” he exclaimed.

He rushed towards her and hugged her. A strangled cry escaped her.

“Damn, I’m glad to see you.” he said releasing her, a tad embarrassed by his outburst.

“Yeah.” she muttered looking a bit stunned.

“Is anyone else here?” asked Jean looking around.

He realized a lot of other trainees had made it.

“Christa and me made it along with Mikasa. Annie, Reiner and Bert as well.” she said nodding towards where the other were resting.

There were others too. He could see Mikasa kneeling in front of a crying girl, seemingly offering words of comfort.

“So what happened to Eren? Where is he?” insisted Ymir.

Christa had approached them and was wearing a worried frown.

“Did something happen to Eren?” asked the blonde.

His stomach churned. He had never cared to think about it before but Eren had been something of a leader amongst the trainees. He was pure genius with the 3DGM and Jean knew from seeing him go that he had been holding back. He was one of the best in hand-to-hand combat as well and he knew what Titans were like from having survived the Fall of Maria. Yeah. He was popular. People looked up to him, respected him and admired him.

How was he supposed to tell them that that person was gone?

“I…”

As if her sixth sense had alerted her to the fact that her brother was being discussed, Mikasa approached them.

“Where’s Eren?” asked the dark haired girl, a hand clutching the red scarf around her neck.

Fuck. He couldn’t do this. This wasn’t in the job description of a soldier, damn it.

“He led the Titans away.” he forced out. “He played bait so that we could get away. I…I don’t think he made it.”

Deathly silence followed. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes as if they couldn’t believe what he had just said.

There was an awkward laugh. Ymir.

“You’re kidding right?” everyone was looking at her and she suddenly looked a bit lost, as if she was struggling to keep her footing. “This is _Jaeger_ we’re talking about. He’s unkillable.”

Christa placed a hand on her friend’s arm and the brunette looked at her bewildered, as if the thought that her blonde angel was agreeing with Jean’s nonsense hadn’t crossed her mind until now.

Jean shuffled his feet uncomfortably. He hadn’t known Ymir cared that much about anyone except Christa. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe Eren’s death was just so…unthinkable. Mikasa was in shock, she just looked straight ahead, eyes wide and empty, her mouth open in a silent cry.

“No one’s immortal.”

That was Annie. The girl didn’t look up. She was sitting against the wall her arms around her knees wrapped around her knees. He saw her shiver and tighten her hold.

“Not even Eren.”

No one could deny that and they all sunk into silent grief.


	30. Wings of Freedom - Part 4

Petra had followed the leader of her squad, Corporal Levi, as soon as the news of the breach had reached them. She was somewhat glad they were going ahead. She couldn’t bear the thought of innocent people dying without her being able to do anything. The Corporal had seemed equally glad to go forward. Well, he _had_ been the one to suggest it after all. Or demanded it depending on the point of view. His reasons were probably different though. The Corporal had no great love for humanity. Just a great hate for Titans.

It had taken half an hour for them to reach the broken walls. Not that long all things considered. Corporal Levi and Squad Leader Hanji had taken things in hand immediately. Hanji and her squad leaving on one side and Petra and her companions following Humanity’s strongest on the other.

They had been fighting ever since then. They had divided into three groups. She and Oluo, Erd and Gunther and Levi on his own. Each group fought on its own but all three groups remained in one same area keeping a Titan-free space behind their backs. It was an effective method which allowed them freedom a movement, and enabled them to regroup quickly if an aberrant arrived. Of course it wouldn’t have been as effective if they hadn’t been all trained so that they could fight with perfect teamwork. And it most likely wouldn’t have worked if Levi hadn’t been on his own. Even though it was frustrating to have their leader fight on his own they all knew that the sad reality was that anyone else would get in the way of the short man. They were just not competent enough to keep up with him.

She ran on a roof meaning to take a Titan right ahead. Oluo wasn’t directly behind her but he was close enough to reach her in case of trouble. He was taking care of another Titan himself. She jumped gracefully and brought down her blades in a flash of silver, neatly cutting a generous piece of the Titan’s neck.

That was the last for that area. She wiped her brow with her sleeve. And froze.

She had good eyesight and had always prided herself in it. Except right now, she wished she wasn’t able to see so far away with such clarity because what unfolded before her eyes made her freeze in horror.

There was a boy. A boy facing a Titan. He was wearing a uniform she could tell, but he looked young. He was probably a trainee. But what was he doing so far away from the wall? Alone?

She realized there was a problem immediately. Despite the titan’s hand reaching for him, the boy didn’t take flight. Could he have run out of gas? She watched him brace himself before jumping on top of the hand and running faster that she had ever seen anyone run – even the Corporal wasn’t as fast – right up to the Titans shoulder. He leapt then, without the aid of his gear, and sliced the Titan’s neck. She could have cheered.

But her joy was short-lived because another hand grabbed the boy and in the next moment he was thrown inside the mouth of fifteen meter class Titan.

The breath caught in her throat. She had seen many soldiers die but she had never seen anyone die after displaying such will to fight until the end and that somehow made it ten times worth.

“Petra?”

That was Oluo. She turned around, glad for the mask that partially covered her face.

“What’s up?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Nothing.” she answered. “There just seems to be quite a lot of Titans over there. We should warn the Corporal.”

She glanced back at the group of Titans, sending a silent farewell to the deceased boy. She couldn’t tell anyone what she had seen right now. It wouldn’t do anyone any good. But she would do her best to find out who he was and when she did, she would make sure to remember his name as that of a man who died bravely. And she would tell his family, his friends, anyone who had known him.

Full of her newfound resolve she followed her partner to where a small figure was soaring the sky leaving trails of blood behind him.

***

The news of Eren’s very likely death had dampened their moral considerably. But if the trainees were slightly depressed and definitely morose, a flame of determination burned in every eye.

 _That’s just like you Jaeger. You manage to inspire people even dead,_ Jean thought as he watched his comrades sullenly preparing for their attack.

He wasn’t jealous. Jean liked himself alive and kicking, thank you very much. But he did kind of wish he could inspire people like Eren did. Every last one of them, no matter what they had been prepared to choose that morning, he knew they would all choose the Survey Corp. Well he was pretty sure they would anyway. He certainly was. If it hadn’t been for Eren they would all have been too terrified after today’s massacre to even consider it, but their late comrade had showed them something. He had showed them that they could fight. And as Mikasa had told them – apparently echoing Eren herself – just a moment before: if you don’t fight you don’t win.

He looked at the raven haired girl. He wasn’t sure how she was taking it. She looked okay. But he also knew how much Eren had meant to her. The red scarf around her neck was a testament of her deep love and worship of the boy. He couldn’t help but think she was putting on a tough front.

“Right. Is everyone clear on the plan?”

His eyes flickered to Armin. The boy had just finished explaining his plan on how to recover the gas supply. The room had Titans in it and with all of them having no gas they had had to make up some kind of strategy. To Jean’s surprise, it had been Armin who had come up with it. Not that he doubted the blonde’s intelligence. It was just that after losing Eren…He shook his head. No, Armin was strong. They all were. And they all knew they would have ample time to grieve later. For now, surviving was their priority.

And the first step was to recover the gas.

He met Armin’s gaze. _I’m the strategist but you’re the leader_. That’s what Armin was telling him. He nodded. He straightened himself and looked at his comrades levelly.

“Okay, let’s go.”


	31. Wings of Freedom - Part 5

Where was he? He felt warm. No hot. It was hot, too hot.

What had happened to him? He couldn’t remember…There had been a Titan. He had been running. He didn’t have any more gas. He had had to stop. On a roof. Then the Titan. What had happened? He remembered the hand. He remembered thinking he couldn’t die without fighting. Yes. So he had jumped on the Titan’s arm and ran. Ran like he had back in Oz when he had been the fastest. He ran like that. Right up to its shoulder. Leapt. Killed it. But then another hand had taken him. Well, he couldn’t have won against so many Titans. Maybe with gas…But without…

Wait. He had been eaten!

His eyes flew open. Eaten. He looked around. A wave of nausea hit him. Blood. An ocean of blood, bits of corpses floating around. Faces frozen in a mask of terror for eternity. Detached limbs. A scream tore past his throat.

Blood. It was boiling. Burned his skin. Tears left his eyes. Fear. Disgust. And then…

Anger. Primal instincts took over suddenly. Titan. Enemy. Kill them. Kill them all. Right to the last one of them. His throat was starting to hurt from screaming. His body burnt both from outside and from within. His bones were white hot. Pain. Pain everywhere.

A bestial cry reached his ears right before his mind went blank and he knew no more.

***

The plan was relatively simple. They were going to do an ‘Eren’. In other words bait the Titans to distract them. The group in charge of that would be carrying the guns which were stored on the floor of the tower they had arrived in. They would be lowered into the room with the lift and wait until the Titans were all around to shoot in their faces. The plan heavily relied on the ability of the ‘baits’ to refrain from shooting up until the very last moment. For meanwhile, seven people would be in charge of killing the Titans. One each, and jumping from the beams of the ceiling.

Jean was one of the Titan killers along with Annie, Reiner, Bert, Connie, Sasha and Mikasa. He wasn’t sure who had it easier. On one hand the baits’ experience would be terrifying. On the other hand, every Titant killer had only chance. If they failed to kill their Titan, they would jeopardize the whole operation and cause the death of many of their comrades. If not all.

 _Yeah, no pressure_.

He could feel beads of sweat sliding down his brow. Damn, he really wasn’t cut out for that leader bullshit. No matter what Marco may have said. The fucking Suicidal Bastard had better not be dead because he was dumping all leadership on him as soon as he got his hand on the brunet.

He advanced on his beam, positioning himself right above his Titan. He saw his comrades do the same out of the corner of his eye. The sound of creaking told them that the lift was coming down. It was painfully slow. With every second passing, watching the teenagers armed with rifles being lowered into the room, Jean could feel the stress building up. What if he jumped too early? What if he missed? What if the Titan was an aberrant?

He shook his head violently.

Godammit he had to stop thinking like that. Think about Eren. Damn bastard had actually dared still his bread at dinner the other night. He was getting him back for it. Calling Horseface in that irritatingly mocking voice of his. Complete git. He couldn’t believe he had mourned his loss. Okay, that wasn’t true. He could. Totally.

The lift came to a stop. Jean noted with satisfaction that he was sufficiently pissed off that the stress became secondary.

_Ah, Jaeger, what would I do without you?_

Mocking his (almost) sworn enemy in his mind gave him strength. He waited, muscles tensed and ready to use. The Titans were reacting slowly. But they were gathering. Like children going towards a castle of candy. Worst was, this was probably how they saw it. A lift full of nice little humans for their afternoon snack. How nice.

They were close now. And he could see some of the trainees trembling dangerously.

“Hold it.” said Armin’s voice.

How did he manage to sound so calm?

“Hold it.”

It seemed to have its effect as no gunshot was fired. The Titans took another step. And another. Hands started to rise. Another step.

“Shoot!”

Dozens of gunshots sounded at the same time and as they did Jean jumped. His heart beating so fast he thought it might fail him, he fixed his eyes on the spot he needed to hit and raised his blades.

The attack was over in a moment. As he fell to the ground, immense relief washed over him. He had done it. Cut the flesh clean off. He rolled to his feet suddenly remembering the others. He could hear his heart thumping loudly as he looked around.

“Did everyone get theirs?” he shouted not able to take much more suspense.

Movement on his right gave him his answer. Sasha was on the floor, looking up, terrified.

“I-I’m sorry!” she shrieked.

She’d missed and the Titan was about to eat her. Its hand was already moving towards her.

“Sasha, move!” he yelled.

But the girl was a trembling mess. Every bone in her body was shaking and she could drag herself backwards. Not enough. A flash of silver metal and red wool and the Titan fell forward, his whole body vanishing in hot steam.

“Mikasa.” Jean mumbled in shock.

Sasha had tears streaming down her face as she looked up at Mikasa.

“I-I’m sorry.” she said pitifully.

Jean shook himself.

“It’s okay, Sash. The important thing is that they’re all dead now.”

He sent a ‘good job’ look to Mikasa, who nodded curtly in response. He gave Sasha a pat on the back before giving orders to restock on gas. He placed a hand over his chest, willing his heart to calm down. That was the first step over.


	32. Wings of Freedom - Part 6

_He was in their house in Shiganshina. Mum was cooking with Mikasa’s help. Dad was looking over some documents at the table. He was sitting on the windowsill. His favourite spot since he had been a child. He gazed away from his family and let his eyes travel on the scenery out the window. The sky was blue outside. Was it summer? He couldn’t remember._

_It didn’t matter anyway. He was at home._

_The thought jolted him out of his half-awake state. He turned his blue eyes towards the other inhabitants of the room. There was something wrong. Something was missing._

_“Eren?”_

_Mikasa was looking at him with concern in her eyes. She had probably been alerted by the frantic expression on his face. His mother turned to look at him as well, in order to see what the matter was._

_“Is something wrong darling?” she enquired in her warm motherly voice._

_Eren stared at them._

_“This isn’t my home.” he said._

_His mother frowned._

_“What do you mean dear?”_

_She wiped her hands on her white apron and advanced towards him. The next moment a cool hand was on his forehead._

_“Strange, you don’t seem to have a fever.”_

_His father had gotten to his feet and was approaching as well, probably intending to examine him. He was a doctor after all. Eren didn’t give the man time to get near him though as he jumped to the floor._

_“I’ve got to go home.” he muttered rushing for the door._

_He barged outside and started running through the streets. Panic was starting to gain him now. He had to go home. But he couldn’t remember where it was. He had to find someone. But who?_

_His green eyes started to brim with tears._

_“I want to go home!” he shouted as he raced past the last house of the village and into the forest._

_He continued running after reaching the trees. He was running so fast that he felt like he was flying above ground but all he could feel was anxiousness. The thought of the missing person was nagging at him. It was right there at the back of his mind, but it kept eluding him. He reached the other side of the forest and raced down the hill towards the city down below. It was in ruins and empty. But he didn’t stop to consider this. He continued running. Next moment he was running down a set of stairs. Through a market. Towards a cliff. He remembered now._

_This was Oz. This was home._

_“LEVI!” he screamed rushing towards the cliff._

_But the scream came out as a beastly roar and the cliff starting disintegrating in front of his eyes, taking his home out of his reach. Forever._

_A desperate scream left his mouth but once again it came out as a monstrous sound. The rest of the scenery started crumbling along with the cliff, leaving Eren in nothing but darkness with only one thought: I have to kill them! I have to kill Titans!_

_***_

Levi was starting to find the situation strange. He hadn’t thought much of it at first but the street were oddly empty. Well, empty of living things. There were plenty of corpses lying around. He supposed there could have been more so that meant the evacuation had worked to a certain extent. What surprised was that there was no sign of the Garrison. Even if they hadn’t counterattacked which he didn’t expect them to do, there should have been patrols checking for survivors and whatnot. As it was there was no sign of military uniforms.

_Pathetic filth._

They had probably barricaded themselves inside the inner wall or something. That was just like them. He was surprised that Pixis had allowed it. The old man may be a damn drunk he was one of the rare members of the Garrison – he wouldn’t even mention the Military Police – who still had some work ethic. Maybe they hadn’t told him yet. That somehow wouldn’t surprise him.

He scanned his surroundings and easily spotted the two groups of Titans coming towards him and his team from opposite sides.

“Take the left side.” he shouted to his four subordinates. “I’ll take the right.”

Petra looked like she wanted to argue but he leapt away from the roof before she had time to utter a complaint. He didn’t have the patience to deal with that shit at the moment.

There were three Titans on his side. He flew straight towards the first, manoeuvring to the side at the last moment. He flew in a great arc, his cable surrounding two of the Titans. He managed to place himself behind the second and threw his body in a quick rotating movement. In a matter of seconds, his prey was vanishing in a cloud of smoke while his blades were already slicing through the neck of the first Titan. With two Titans down, he took his time to watch the third coming. He waited until it was at a reasonable distance and sent his grapples on its forehead. He landed on the creatures head, stumbling a bit when the Titan shook his head.

“Stop that you fucking bastard. I can’t slice your neck if you keep moving.” he growled.

When the Titan stopped moving long enough for him to cut his neck, Levi finished the job. It was as he jumped on a nearby roof that he noticed the commotion.

He narrowed his eyes. There were kids. Well, teenagers. In uniforms. Probably trainees. What the fuck was this all about?

He flew towards the teenagers struggling against a pair of aberrants at top speed. Using the same rotating motion as before he slew the two Titans in a single move, before jumping onto the roof the trainees had frozen on.

“Oy brats. What the fuck is going on here?” he demanded, his voice coated with annoyance.


	33. Wings of Freedom - Part 7

Once they had refilled on gas and blades, Jean had decided it was time they exchanged information about their situation. The first thing he had asked was if anyone had heard of the higher ups. He hadn’t expected the complete absence of any sign of the Garrison. He had gritted hiss teeth. Of course it wasn’t hard to guess what was happening. They had been abandoned. He knew there had been an evacuation because the streets, if there were some corpses in them, weren’t filled with dead bodies as it would have been otherwise. Which meant the Garrison had taken the civilians and locked themselves inside the inner wall. Leaving the trainees to die at the hands of the Titans.

Fuck them all.

Seeing as no one seemed particularly interested in what they did up there, Jean decided it was up to them to make their decisions. As it was, him, since he appeared to be in charge.

They had discussed their options and decided on moving out. Staying at the tower wasn’t going to help and Titans were already gathering around it, attracted by the large number of humans inside. They would have to leave before the Titans made the tower collapse on itself.

They had divided themselves into small groups. They would travel in the same vicinity so as to be able to help each other but would stay far enough that they wouldn’t attract too many Titans, as large groups tended to do.

It had worked for a time. At least a pair of aberrants showed up and cornered Jean’s group. While they had managed to hold their own against normal Titans so far, aberrants were a tad more complicated. And two of them was definitely too much for them to handle. Except they would have to make do.

The boy dodged a hand, cursing under his breath. What the fuck were they supposed to do now? None of them had died yet. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like this lucky situation would last long. He cursed again. He would have to go on offence. At this point he didn’t really have a choice.

He was about to rush in, when a swirl of green slashed the necks of both Titans before slowing down and finally freezing into the figure of a short raven haired man in mid-air. Jean felt himself go slack-jawed. What the fuck was Corporal Levi doing there? Not that he wasn’t happy to see him or anything.

“Oy brats.” said the man landing on the roof and advancing towards them. “What the fuck is going on here?”

Jean snapped his mouth shut. He was the leader here. He had to act like it.

He took a step forward and saluted, promptly offering his report on the situation. He kept an eye on the man as he spoke. The Corporal may have a short stature but his demeanour demanded respect. He stood straight and his face was set in an emotionless mask, his eyes looking straight ahead. They were rather intimidating in fact. His eyes. They were hard, unforgiving and spoke a clear threat to one’s welfare if the man didn’t get the respect he deserved. Jean imagined the eyes of a killer wouldn’t be much different.

“Where’s the Garrison?” demanded the Corporal when Jean had finished his report.

Jean hesitated. He felt the strong need to share his suspicions with the man and spit out his venom but that could be interpreted as insubordination.

“There has been no sign of them.” he said at last, preferring to play it safe.

“Fucking bastards are probably hiding like the cowardly rats they are.” grumbled the green caped soldier.

Jean blinked in surprise. Well. That was unexpected. He suddenly felt a new surge of respect for the short man.

He jumped slightly when four figures clad in the green capes of the Survey Corp landed on the roof. They took position behind the Corporal, eyeing the trainees with concern.

“Fucking Garrison holed up inside the walls. Those bastards.” said the Corporal, turning towards the newcomers.

The four exchanged shocked glances. Jean was pretty sure it wasn’t the Corporal’s language that had shocked them.

“But surely Dot Pixis…”

That had been a petite woman – the only one in the group – with red hair.

“He probably doesn’t even know.” snapped the Corporal cutting her off. “That’d be…”

The raven haired man never did finish his sentence though as a deafening roar sounded from their right. All eyes turned towards the source of the sound. Jean vaguely noticed that the other teams of trainees had joined them.

“There’s something over there.” said Mikasa. “I think…Well, I think it’s a Titan…” she trailed off visibly unsure.

“What do you mean you think?” Jean asked frowning.

The answer was shown to him almost instantly. If it had been a Titan it would have been a fifteen metre class. Except it wasn’t a Titan. Well…Not completely. Rather than looking like a vaguely humanoid naked figure, the creature was covered in long black hairs. Its face was really discernible but it seemed hallway between a human/titan face and a kind of snout. Its hands looked vaguely like paws with long black claws instead of fingernails. Its feet were the same. All in all, Jean got the impression that whatever it was had stopped hallway during a transformation which was a strange thought. Because why _would_ it stop halfway?

The thing roared again and launched forward. Jean’s first instinct was to flee but before he could move he realized the creature wasn’t interested in them. What it was attacking were Titans.

“What the fuck?” muttered the Corporal.

Jean full-heartedly agreed. That summed up the situation quite well.


	34. Wings of Freedom - Part 8

No, he was not staring. He was just you know…observing. Yeah, because even if you were Humanity’s strongest it wasn’t every day you saw a…A what? An abnormal aberrant? A sort-of-Titan-but-not-really? A thing? Well, whatever.

Maybe he _had_ been staring. Like just about everybody else on the fucking roof. It would have been one thing if that hairy thingy had attacked them. Then they would have called it an aberrant and the matter would have been close. But no! The thing just had to be weird and attack Titans! So now, they were faced with an aberrant abnormal aberrant. In others words a rather odd aberrant who acted differently from other aberrant. They could always call it a fucking weirdo. It would be less of a mouthful.

He watched with a sort of helpless fascination as the _thing_ trashed around nearby streets, roaring and swinging its great clawed paws at Titans. The thing didn’t seem to be aiming for the Titans’ necks. Admittedly he had seen it beheading a few Titans but more often than not he would just savagely slash at them, cutting them to shreds and stomping on them until they were but a pool of bloody mush. It was fucking disgusting. But even _he_ didn’t expect the fucking weirdo to have any kind of basic sense of hygiene. He was really just a wild mutant beast. They couldn’t ask for too much.

“Corporal?”

He didn’t know how long they had spent standing like a bunch of idiots while watching the disgustingly violent scene, but it seemed some of them had started looking away. Petra being one of them.

The woman was standing next to him, looking a little bit green and obviously waiting for a response.

“What?” he forced out, eyes still fixed on the hairy figure.

“What should we do?”

He turned to look at her perplexed. It took a moment for him to regain enough brain activity to understand what the hell she was on about.

“For now that thing seems to be on our side so we’ll let him be.” he said trying to recover his countenance.

It really was lucky that his slip up had been covered by his mask. He supposed the damn thing _did_ have its use after all.

“Maybe…Maybe we should help him…”

He turned towards the blonde girl who had spoken. She was wearing the same expression halfway between immortal boredom and morbid fascination that he knew had been on his face a moment ago. Her blonde hair was gathered in a bun and her cold blue eyes appeared to be unable to leave the scene playing out in front of them.

He was about to ask what the hell she meant by that but then, he happened to glance back at the thing. His eyes widened slightly. The creature had been pinned to a wall by a group of seven or so Titans, one being a fifteen meter class while the others were smaller. The thing was roaring in what Levi assumed to be pain. Which was perfectly acceptable considering he was being eaten by the Titans.

Levi was trying to decide between staying there and watching the thing’s tragic death and plunging in the melee to help it out, when the thing let out a mighty roar. It clamped its fangs around the fifteen meter class Titan’s neck and ripped it out. While the now-deceased Titan morphed into a cloud of steam, the thing swung its claws at the smaller Titans, sending them flying away.

“Who the hell needs help?” mumbled the guy who had given him the report – Kirschtein was it? – looking a bit pale.

Levi had to agree there. The thing was doing rather well. He had completely turned the tables and was now standing in an almost empty street. The only survivors being two seven meter class. They probably wouldn’t last long. But once again, the thing did something unpredictable.

He collapsed on his knees with a powerful howl. His body began steaming and it became clear to Levi that he had run out juice. The thing was dying. So much for that, he thought as he watched the steam rise, boredom coming back quickly.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and his heart missed a beat.

“Oh fuck!” he said. “Take out the seven metre classes.” he threw to his subordinates before throwing himself into the street where the thing had collapsed.

He heard Petra scream his title behind, but he didn’t stop. He ran up to the thing’s remains and up to the kneeling figure he had glimpsed from the roof.

He fell to his knees in front of the other and lifted a trembling hand to brush against the dark brown hair. He placed a hand against the boy’s cheek, before realization suddenly hit him. He grabbed the boy’s shirt and flung his ear against the boy’s chest. He let out a deep sigh of relief when he heard the regular beating of a heart.

He heard footsteps approaching, voices calling out to him but he couldn’t bring himself to care, because Eren was in his arms. Eren was alive.

He buried his face in the boy’s chest, noting absent-mindedly that that little brat of his had had the nerves to outgrow him. His arms were wrapped around the boy’s back holding him close and he revelled in the feeling of a warm body against his. Yet another proof that Eren was alive.

He didn’t know how long he remained that way but when he deigned look up at last, Hanji was hovering over him looking concerned.

“He’s alive.” he mumbled to her. “Eren’s alive.”

The woman looked surprised for a moment before a bright smile lit up her whole face.

“I’m happy for you Levi.” she told him, her voice full of fondness.

He hummed in acknowledgment and closed his voice, letting his head fall back against Eren’s chest. He just felt so damn tired.


	35. Wings of Freedom - Part 9

Weird didn’t even start to describe the situation. Jean wasn’t even sure he understood all of it. One moment they had all been staring at the hairy not-Titan murdering the other overgrown freak and the next Corporal Levi was hugging Eren’s unconscious body like it was his only lifeline. Right.

What the fuck?

This actually encompassed multiple questions. How the hell did Eren transform into that creature, was one. What the fuck was going on between the Corporal and Eren, was another. Needless to say none of them had been answered. Admittedly they had had other things to think about. Such as how to make the Corporal react when he was visibly too caught up in being shocked? Or what they were going to do next with an unconscious Eren and an unresponsive leader?

Thankfully Hanji Zoe – a type of glasses-wearing creature which seemed to have a hyperactive nature – had arrived with her team and took charge of things. It was only when the bat crazy woman had been hovering next to him that the Corporal had looked up. He had said something but none of them had heard anything. They had heard the woman say she was very happy for him, though. It didn’t help them in understanding the situation.

Mikasa and Armin looked a bit frustrated that they weren’t able to go and hug Eren as well, but more than anything they seemed taken aback by the Corporal’s actions. Just like the rest of them. Whatever had been going on between the two men, it had happened without their knowledge.

Jean, along with the rest of the witnesses of the strange events, had to resign themselves to putting off the time for answers as Hanji had ordered evacuation. Her second-in-command, a guy called Moblit, took care of carrying Eren while the Corporal was placed on the back of his own second-in-command. The operation took a while, as the Corporal was clutching Eren’s shirt very tightly and it took some time to force his grip to slacken and separate them from the brunet.

Once that was done, they started off with the intention of joining the rest of the Survey Corp before traveling towards the inner wall.

After that was a swirl of action. With Hanji’s arrival, the time for the trainees’ independent actions was apparently over. Not that any of them were complaining. They were grateful for the senior soldiers’ protection. Jean himself was quite glad to let someone else take decisions.

It was almost surprising how well everything had gone. It seemed as if the fight against Titans had been over from the moment Hanji took charge of them. They had re-joined the Survey Corp and Commander Erwin, made their way to the inner wall where they had been allowed some much needed rest. The Commander along with Pixis, who had finally been notified, planned how to retake the first wall of Roze and put it into motion.

It wasn’t that difficult thankfully, as the city was built in blocks which could be closed off completely. The only thing they had to do was activate the shutting of the broken section and send soldiers to annihilate the Titans that were in the others. Once that was done they started the ventilation which was meant to purify the air.

It would take a few days but Roze would soon be back to what it had been, with exception of the section which had been broken in.

All that remained was for Eren to wake up. Except he and the Corporal had been shipped off to the Survey Corp’s headquarters as soon as they reached the inner wall. Commander Erwin had announced that Eren would be asked to join the Survey Corp as soon as he woke up in light of ‘his heroic actions during the war’. Not a word was said about the creature he had become and all witnesses had received a firm order to keep their mouths shut. They had all sworn secrecy on the matter and the trainees had been sent back to the training grounds.

It was where they were now, tending to their injuries and mourning their dead. There wasn’t much else to do. Their career choice had been postponed to a month from then. Time enough to take back Roze and recover from the attack. For now, they were meant to stand by at the training grounds and continue training. It was practically a punishment as far as Jean was concerned. He would have given anything to be able to participate in cleansing the retaken Roze. Or even to be able to visit Eren wherever he was. At this point he would have done anything as long as it had him moving. As long as it kept from thinking, anything would be fine. If he was left alone with his thoughts, memories of broken bodies and desperate cries would come back to haunt him. It drained him and made him itch for action.

The battle had taught him this much. Sometimes surviving was more painful than dying.

 


	36. Side Story 2 - Angel of Regrets, Part 1

Katia Bartowski was by no means the saint people made her out to be. As Levi liked to say ‘there were no innocents in Oz’. And she was no exception. She might not be as deeply involved with the darkness of the city as her dark haired friend but she was tainted. She had not always been this way. She had once been a girl with pure dreams, living in a small village on the surface.

Her childhood had been nothing but happy. She had been a bright child who knew only how to smile. Her teenage years had treated her well also. Puberty had come sweetly to her, giving her all the right curves and leaving her pale skin untarnished. She had let her blonde hair grow out then as well. The pretty gold colour had made her proud. Back then, her sky blue eyes had started noticing men. She had never thrown herself at them like some girls she knew, but she had certainly entertained thoughts of romance and marriage.

And romance she had had. If she gazed at young men, they often gazed back. One of them in particular had expressed interest in her on more than one occasion. He had been a childhood friend of hers. He had been a sweet boy and had grown into a gentle man. He might have been plain and shy but she would always remember him fondly. He would have been a loving husband and a good father.

Sadly, like many girls who take pride in their beauty, she had been foolish. She had believed his mild temperament would not match her own fiery one. While she had relished in being admired she had refused his marriage proposal. For a while it had seemed like a good decision for she had met _him_ soon after.

He was a handsome man with eyes as blue as hers and hair the same blonde she bore. He was gallant and gave her much loved attention. He was calm but firm and she found that he complemented her magnificently. She had given herself to him and for a while all had seemed perfect. She envisioned a bright future. A wedding ring, a white house and blonde children. She had allowed herself to dream.

It had seemed to come true when he had given her an engagement ring. But it had been short-lived.

Soon after he had proposed to her he had finished his military training and prepared himself to make his career choice. He was good enough to make it into the Military Police, but he wanted to fight. He wanted to change the world and win the war. He wanted to join the Survey Corp.

She had screamed and cried, told him she would not marry a soldier doomed to die. She would not tie herself to a man who would leave her widowed at twenty five. She had given him a choice. Marry her or go to war. She had looked at him dead in the eye and when she did she realized this first fight would be their last. She had loved him with everything she had but it hadn’t been enough. He wanted war more than he wanted her. He chose war.

She watched him leave while crying bitter tears. Her dreams of marriage and a family had ended right there and then.

As soon as it had all gone out of reach she had been assaulted by regrets. She was twenty and already her life seemed to be over. But she was not the type of woman who would be content with wallowing in self-pity, so she left. She took her meagre possessions and made her way to a new future. It so happened that her steps took her to Oz. She had wanted a new dream, to create a new home. Why had she chosen the Earthly equivalent of Hell for that? She could not say.

She had discovered there that she had been living a happy life. What had seemed normal up until then, was now put into perspective. There were corpses in the streets, the stench of blood everywhere. Light was filtered and darkness was not so much of a concept as a reality. Food was scarce and hunger common. And happiness was the rarest luxury.

The first few weeks were difficult. Finding food, escaping those who would take advantage of her, keeping herself safe. All of this was harder than she had expected. She had only lived until then. She had had to learn how to survive. But she managed. She found the Holy Lands and settled there. This would be her new home she decided, she would build her new dream there.

It was after she had settled that she realized something was wrong. The fatigue she had put up to her constant battle for survival never seemed to leave her. She would wake up to waves of nausea and food would sometimes make queasy. She had never been dumb and she quickly put two and two together. She was pregnant. With that man’s child.

She could have gone back to the surface. Could have sought him out and asked for help. But she didn’t. Stubbornly she refused to leave her self-imposed exile. She would manage she told herself. She would be fine on her own.

When she thought back on it now, she knew this had been foolishness on her part. A baby was such a fragile thing. Its life was an easily extinguished flame. There were many things that could kill it. A nasty hit to the stomach was one of those.

And so she had made another mistake. Another regret she would keep for a lifetime.


	37. Side Story 2 - Angel of Regrets, Part 2

When the excruciating pain took over, she understood her baby would never be born. She knew more than half the pain wasn’t physical but rather a consequence of her accumulated guilt and regrets. ‘What ifs’ ran in her mind until she exhausted herself. For a long time she thought she would never smile again. She didn’t even know why she did not put an end to her life. It would have made everything so much easier. But she was neither weak nor a coward and so she kept going.

She busied herself, helping out where she could. The idea of an orphanage came to her in those times and she was quick to put it into effect. Little by little she learned to live a pretence of happiness. There would always be a lingering ache whenever she looked at the ring on her finger. Sometimes she would touch her stomach delicately and tear up at the thought of the baby she had killed with her foolishness. But on the whole she was much like she had once been. Only stronger. And with more regrets than she ever thought she could have.

She had been living in Oz for two years and her reputation as the ‘Angel of the Holy Land’ was well-established when she had met Levi.

She had found him collapsed in the streets. Just a bloodied child with short raven black hair, whom she estimated to be around nine. She had learned to harden herself to the sight of corpses and dying men over the years, but children always got to her. Also she had made it her business to help any she encountered when she had created the orphanage. So she had walked over to him and picked him up. He had twitched and snarled like a wounded beast, but he had been too weak to do her any harm.

She brought him back to her home and tended his injuries. There were knife-wounds which was not uncommon. There were however, needle wounds and this was much stranger. There weren’t any doctors in Oz and she couldn’t imagine how he would have gotten needle wounds otherwise. She had to leave it as a mystery though, as the boy was in no shape to answer questions.

He slept for an entire day before he woke up. And as soon as he did he glared at her with striking silver eyes.

“Who the fuck are you?” had spat the boy.

Katia had frowned and slapped the back of his head none too gently. Pale hands had reached to his head and the glare had intensified.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

She had wanted to smile. She didn’t know why, but it made her want to laugh. Instead, she frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

“Watch your language young man. I’ll have none of that in my home.” she had admonished, with a glare of her own. “I’m Katia Bartowski. What’s your name?”

He had remained silent. Sitting on the bed, back to the wall, looking like a cornered beast.

She had sighed then and grabbed his cheeks before pulling mercilessly. When the boy had had enough of the childish torture, he had spat his answer at her:

“Levi, damnit. It’s Levi.”

She had smiled at him and ruffled his dark hair.

“See that wasn’t so bad was it?”

She laughed at the scowl he gave her.

This had marked the beginning of a relationship of clashing authority and grudging respect. Levi was not the type to bow to anyone but he would allow her to mother him a bit before snapping. He would come to her with his wounds and bring some money or food when he had more than he needed. In turn, she always greeted him with open arms and a bright smile.

She had never known how he had ended up so roughed up on the streets, even Levi didn’t know it seemed. Whatever the case, she was glad she had picked him up that day. When he came back with a dirty little girl at his heels, she knew her gesture hadn’t left him completely indifferent either. She had fallen in love with Isabelle. And later Farlan. She adored the little family Levi had built for himself and if she was honest with herself, she was also envious.

When Eren came along, she knew Levi would be fine. It was an odd thing to say since Levi had always done well for himself. But she had this feeling that Eren would be good for Levi. It amused her to see them dancing around each other before bonding so tightly that it was sometimes hard to remember they hadn’t grown up together.

But all good things come to an end.

Levi had been caught and talked into joining the Survey Corp. Eren had left Oz, heartbroken and alone. She had gone back to the days before Levi. Helping neighbours and taking care of the children that came to her door. She could fool everyone into thinking she was happy but she could not fool herself. If she was an angel, she was a tainted one.

Even after all this time, she still wanted her happy marriage, her white house and her children. She still dreamt of the man she had loved coming back to her and of the child who could have been born. She carried her regrets like a second skin. A skin that burnt her with every breath she took.

Despite all this, she still felt fear when the end came. The tremors sent her into panic and she tried to flee, leaving the house. She didn’t get far. The quakes made her house crumble and she was caught under its remains, legs stuck under a heavy stone. The end came slowly. Painfully. She was almost grateful when a rock falling from above smacked her head and sent her into a sleep she would not wake up from.

Perhaps it was a good thing that she would never know the man she had loved to her last day had come at last. His blue eyes had widened upon seeing her lifeless body and he had knelt to gently caress the ring on her pale finger. Perhaps the form of the dead angel who had loved him would become his regret. Who was to know?


	38. Fly Away - Part 1

It had been two days. Two days since Eren had proven to be alive despite everything pointing to the contrary. Two days during which the teenager had done nothing but sleep. He, Levi, had woken up a few hours after passing out. He had been by the boy’s side ever since. Hanji came and kept him company (not that he asked for it) punctually. It was thanks to her that he had learnt of Eren’s act of bravery. The 104th trainee squad had given them the report on what had happened and it turned that Eren had played bait so as to give his comrades time to flee. An act of foolish bravery which was sadly typical of Eren.

Still, foolish or not, Levi was damn proud of him. Well, a part of him was. The other was horrified at the idea that he was about to lose him for the second time without even knowing it. He would have to have a long conversation about that with Eren. Having said that they would be having long conversations about a lot of things. Something told him the first topic would be the day he left. Because really, the last time they had seen each other, Levi had knocked him out and he was almost certain Eren wouldn’t have been very pleased when he came to.

Yep, he had better brace himself.

He sighed, his gaze leaving the boy’s sleeping figure to look out the window. Things were slowly settling out there. Thankfully, not many people had witnessed Eren’s transformation apart from his team and the trainees. The Special Operations Squad he lead wouldn’t say a word of it and from what Hanji had told him, the trainees had been sworn to secrecy, so with luck the truth wouldn’t get out. They all had a very good reason to ask Eren to join the Survey Corp as he had proved himself to be an excellent soldier. But that didn’t mean everything was over.

For one thing, he didn’t know how Erwin would react. It wasn’t likely that the blonde had forgotten the child who had held a knife to his throat, all too willing to slit it. Even though he had made forgetting about Eren a condition for his joining the Survey Corp, it didn’t mean the Commander would be entirely objective about the situation.

Erwin was a smart man. Too smart perhaps. He liked being in control. He wanted his plan to go as well as possible and that meant getting rid of any wild card. Usually, Levi agreed with this manner of doing things. But in this particular case, Eren was the wild card. So this time, he would have to make sure that no one tried to get rid of him. He could never accept Eren dying. Never again.

“Levi?”

The dark haired man whipped his head back, eyes widening a fraction as he noticed Eren’s eyes had opened and were turned towards him.

“Eren.” he said a lump settling in his throat. “How are you feeling?”

The brunet looked confused. He didn’t make any sign that he had heard Levi. All he did was fix the man as if he had seen a ghost.

“Is this heaven? I didn’t know you’d died too.” mumbled Eren sleepily.

Levi’s eyebrows shot up. What the fuck was the brat on about?

“Didn’t think we’d make it to heaven either t’be honest.”

Levi sighed.

“You’re not dead Eren. This is the Survey Corp’s headquarters.” he told him, eyes scanning the boy for any sign of pain or discomfort.

“I’m…” the boy’s face scrunched up in confusion.

It was kind of cute really. It reminded Levi of the time when Eren was still a boy. Now the brunet was taller than him, his eyes hardened by war and bloodshed. He was a grown man and Levi hadn’t been there to see him grow.

“But…I was…” continued Eren visibly lost. “I was eaten.”

His turquoise eyes still hadn’t left Levi’s face and when he met the boy’s gaze Levi realized the brunet might not completely believe he was really there. It had been so long since they had last seen each other that it seemed like a dream.

Eren lifted his hand and trembling finger approached Levi’s face.

“Are you…Are you really…?” murmured Eren, his voice quivering.

His finger brushed lightly against the man’s cheek. They hovered next to the pale skin for a moment before cupping the man’s face tenderly.

“Yeah.” said Levi, placing his hand on top of the brunet’s. “I’m real.”

He heard the boy’s breath catch and the brunet blinked quickly as if he was about to cry. But he didn’t, he just looked halfway between smiling and bursting into tears. Levi was feeling much the same way though his face was still as impassive as ever.

“Seven years.” said Eren after a long silence.

His voice sounded stronger, but it still held sadness and a hint of disbelief.

“It’s been seven years.” he repeated.

Levi felt his heart clench in his chest.

“Yeah.” he muttered dumbly.

“You never came back.” continued Eren with desperation.

The brunet’s hand slipped away from the man’s cheek and he looked away, closing his eyes and taking a deep calming breath.

“Even when Farlan and Isabelle died. You never came back. I had to figure it out on my own.”

Levi remained silent. There was really no way he could deny the boy’s accusations. They were all true after all. He looked at the brunet whose eyes were fixed on his hands, seemingly lost in thoughts. He looked away briefly.

“I thought you were dead.” he said hoarsely. “Five years ago, I thought…I went to Oz after…” he took a deep breath. “I found your scarf.”

He turned back towards Eren. The boy was looking at him now, looking stricken.

“After you left, I went home.” said the brunet at last. “I had your scarf with me so I decided to leave mine at home in case you ever came back…”

They gazed at each other and slowly Eren’s lips stretched into a smile.

“It’s good to see you Levi.” he said. “I’ve wanted to see you all along.”

“Yeah. Me too, brat. Me too.”


	39. Fly Away - Part 2

It was with great relief that Eren left his bed to take a few hesitant steps. He had been awake for a day or so now and he had been bored out of his skull. It didn’t help that with his awakening, Levi had been forced to go back to the duties he had abandoned in favour of staying at Eren’s bedside. He still dropped by in between tasks and hovered over Eren with a frown on his face like the mother hen he was deep down. In presence of Eren anyway.

While the relative peace and punctual attention had been nice at first – for about the first two hours or so – it had quickly become dull. After more or less a day and a half of this, Eren had enough. He was fed up with having to assure Levi that ‘no, nothing hurt’ and ‘yes, he felt absolutely fine, no need to worry’. Especially since the dark haired man had to leave again as soon as he was done with the obligatory health check. Thus making it impossible to speak about anything remotely relevant, such as why Levi had decided it was a good idea to leave him, for instance.

By the time Petra had arrived, Eren was already plotting a hundred different ways to escape and was also thoroughly annoyed with his beloved vertically challenged childhood friend.

Petra had been quick to introduce herself and had mentioned seeing him being eaten. The thought of it had been a bit disturbing but the petite woman had quickly diverted his attention by showering him with praise over how swiftly he had killed that Titan, despite having run out of gas. Once the ginger-haired soldier was done, flushed and breathless after her excited talk, Eren had abandoned his anger in favour of curiosity.

After a chat which taught Eren that Petra Ral had been handpicked by Levi himself to be part of his Special Operations Squad, the teenager managed to talk the woman into letting him up. Petra was hesitant at first. Mainly because it had been proved more than once in the past days that Eren was – for reasons still unknown – more important than anything else in the eyes of the Corporal. Which meant she was liable to die in atrocious pain if something was to happen to Eren in her presence, even if it was only a bruise.

On the other hand, Eren could be quite convincing when he wanted too. So convincing in fact, that she ended up giving in.

“Be careful!” she yelped anxiously, as the brunet swayed on his feet.

Eren who had just gotten up from the bed, ignored the woman and concentrated on his balance. Once he was confident that he was not going to fall right away. He took a step forward. To his great pleasure, he had no trouble walking away from the bed.

“See, I’m all fine.” he told the woman with a bright smile.

Petra answered with a smile of her own. Eren’s joy was strangely contagious.

Her expression froze over and morphed to horrified shock when Levi chose that moment to open the door and enter the room.

“What the fuck are you doing out of bed?” was the first he said upon noticing the brunet on his feet.

Petra looked ready to throw herself at the man’s feet and apologize for all her wrongdoings but Eren was completely unfazed by the Corporal’s killer aura.

“I had enough of being stuck in bed. I’m all fine anyway, see?” he took a few steps to prove his point.

Levi didn’t look convinced. Feeling the earlier annoyance rising again, Eren went to plant himself in front of the shorter man intending to give him a piece of his mind but froze with a thoughtful look on his face.

Levi who had prepared himself for the onslaught when he had seen the green flash gold was caught by surprise when the boy’s gaze turned to turquoise as the boy assumed a thoughtful expression.

“What?” he asked, after a moment of prolonged silence.

Eren started.

“Oh, nothing. Just…you know…” he frowned as if he had trouble formulating his thoughts. “You’re kinda short…”

Behind him, Petra gasped, clasping her hands over her open mouth as her eyes widened in terror. Eren didn’t pay her any attention. He realized how it must have sounded when he met Levi’s murderous glare.

“Oh! I didn’t mean it like that!” he said, having the decency to look sheepish, if a little bit amused.

Levi scowled.

“Really?” he seethed, while Petra continued looking her expression saying she expected the worst to happen.

“I just meant…you know…before I was shorter than you but now I’m taller…”

“Thanks for reminding me.” spat Levi venomously.

Visibly his height was still a sore spot for him, even after all those years.

“Oh come on, Liv.” sighed Eren with fond exasperation. “You know perfectly well what I meant so stop pretending to be offended.”

“I _am_ offended.” Levi growled in response, though it was half-hearted.

“Well, you shouldn’t be because I didn’t mean anything by it.” concluded Eren firmly.

Seeing Levi’s expression relax, proof that he wasn’t angry anymore, he grinned mischievously.

“Plus, I like you being compact. It makes you more huggable.” he said with an evil grin, ignoring the mutter of ‘the hell do you mean compact?’.

Levi seemed to realize the implication if the widened of his silver eyes was anything to go by.

“Eren, don’t you dare.” he said hastily taking a step back while giving the grinning youth a warning look. “I swear…”

The next moment he was engulfed in a hug. He stumbled backwards a little under the sudden weight and a string of curses left his lips as Eren’s strong arms squeezed him against the boy’s taller body.

Petra watched as a laughing Eren embraced a struggling Levi, hesitating between laughing and running away. She had a feeling life in the Special Operations Squad was going to be vastly different now that Eren was here.


	40. Fly Away - Part 3

After another day spent in bed and a two-hour long argument with Levi, Eren had finally earned the right to get up and actually move around. He had taken immense pleasure in finally being able to leave his nightclothes in favour of getting properly dressed. Great joy for small things, but being stuck in bed for hours on end could do that to you.

He had delighted in stretching just about every limb he possessed. He had then happily followed Petra down to the mess hall where he had devoured his breakfast. It wasn’t that they had forgotten to feed him, it was just that they had been giving him smaller portions of food which had left him permanently hungry. Once satiated he asked the woman, who had been watching him with fond bemusement, where Levi was.

When Petra had come to wake him instead of the raven haired man, Eren had thought Levi was showing his annoyance over having to let Eren leave his bed by staying out of his sight. Except none of the other team members were around either.

He lifted an eyebrow at the woman’s prolonged silence. Petra shifted uneasily under his piercing gaze.

“Hmm…I think they went to get cleaning supplies…” she admitted slowly, avoiding his eye.

Eren clicked his tongue. Of-fucking-course. He should have expected this really. First day on his feet and what would they do? Clean.

He wasn’t really angry though. He was more amused than anything else to be fair. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to Levi’s cleaning habits and hygiene morals. Not to mention, once you had lived through it, you tended to pick up the man’s habits to a certain extent. It was the kind of thing which stayed with you for life.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he bit his lower lip sheepishly as he thought back on the day before.

“This might actually be my fault.” he muttered thoughtfully, his lips threatening to extend in a smile.

Petra looked up in surprise.

“What do you mean?” she asked curiously.

“This may be payback for the hug.” mumbled the brunet frowning. “Vengeful bastard. He’s probably trying to make me feel guilty by including you lot. What a git.”

“What was that?” asked a smooth voice behind him.

Eren turned around to glare playfully at the Corporal.

“Has anyone ever told you, you’re a prat?” he asked conversationally.

“You might have mentioned a few times.” answered the other man offhandedly.

At that moment three men entered the room, carrying brooms, mops, buckets and various other cleaning items. Eren identified them as the other members of Levi’s squad. He had only seen them from a distance before, having only formally met Petra.

Catching Eren’s curious look over his shoulder, Levi turned around and motioned to his subordinates to come forward. The men left the supplies against a wall and approached them.

“This Erd, my second-in-command.” started Levi jerking his chin towards a man with blond hair gathered in a ponytail. “This is Gunther.” he continued indicating a serious-looking individual with dark brown hair. “And that’s Oluo.”

Oluo sported an undercut, similar to Levi’s, except his hair was of a blondish brown colour and that, in Eren’s opinion, the haircut didn’t look as good on him as it did on Levi.

“Nice to meet you.” said Eren with an amicable grin. “I’m Eren.”

“They already knew that.” said the Corporal before any of them had time to react.

“Oh, shut up.” huffed the brunet giving the man a playful punch to the shoulder.

He heard Petra stifle a giggle behind him. Having spent some time around the two of them, the woman had had time to get used to their interactions and she had quickly learnt that usual rules did not apply to Eren. While one would usually be beaten up for telling the short Corporal to ‘shut up’, Eren got away with it with a half-hearted glare and the merest hint of a smile on the man’s lips. It took a while for the ginger haired female to stop gasping in shock every time Eren said something which would usually warrant a violent reaction, but she now took it all in stride, even daring to show her amusement at times.

The others had no such luck. They stared at the pair with half-bemused half-horrified expressions. Noticing the faces they were pulling, Eren snorted softly.

Levi pretended he didn’t see anything and armed with his poker face and authoritative tone, he started giving out orders to his team plus one. When Eren found himself assigned to the entire first floor, alone, he felt absolutely sure that this was indeed payback and it was an indignant huff that he stalked out of the mess hall, armed with a mop and a bucket of soapy water.

As it turned out, Erd and Petra sneaked in to help him after they were done with their own chores and the cleaning resulted in a light-hearted bonding session for the three of them. Erd turned out to be a good guy who, if he took his job seriously, also knew how to relax and have fun. With the addition of Petra who was quickly becoming a favourite of Eren’s, the afternoon passed quickly.

They were finally caught by Levi a few hours later. Though Erd and Petra looked mortified at having been found out, they quickly realized that Eren was their best weapon against their superior. For after spending ten minutes making colourful threats, and exchanging quips with Eren, the shorter man ended up helping them all finish up with the cleaning.

It was only after they were done making the Headquarters sparkle and assembled in the mess hall after a most welcome dinner that a messenger came in to deliver orders concerning Eren on behalf of Erwin Smith.


	41. To Fly or Fall - Part 1

Time seemed to pass slowly without Eren. Using her status as the boy’s adopted sister, Mikasa had tried to get permission to see him but neither she nor Armin had been successful. They had received brief news of his condition – mostly that he was still sleeping – and had caught sight of Levi, whose exact relationship with Eren was still a mystery for her. She had thought about going up to him and demand answers but the venomous look he had shot her way had stopped her. The man’s glare was hard and cold and as far as she was concerned unwarranted. She couldn’t think of anything she might have done that would explain such animosity. Out of habit she had reached for the red scarf around her neck and the glare had become all the more heated. She could only blink in confusion as the man firmly turned around and marched away.

“Mikasa?”

She jumped slightly at the sound of the voice behind her. Turning she was met with the sight of wide concerned blue eyes.

“Are you okay?” Armin asked gently.

She nodded fervently, wanting to dispel the boy’s worry.

“I’m fine. I was just thinking about Eren.” she explained quickly, smiling softly at her friend. “Everything is just so confusing at the moment.”

The blonde sighed and went to sit by her side.

“That’s true. It seems we know a lot less about Eren than we thought we did.” he admitted. “But well…I suppose we’ll just have to learn to know him again.”

“Yeah.”

Silence fell upon them as they sat looking in the distance, relishing the familiar warmth of their shoulders pressed together. No matter what, they were still family. She had no doubt they would soon be with Eren again as well. Everything would go back to normal for sure.

Their moment of peace was interrupted by Connie who came running up to them.

“Armin! Mikasa!” he called, stopping behind them and gasping for breath. “They’re saying Eren is to meet with the Commander.” he told them at last, eyes wide.

The two friends exchanged a glance.

“What about it?” asked Armin who was feeling that they were missing something.

The worry was evident on Connie’s expression and he couldn’t fathom why the boy would be so concerned by the news.

“Apparently it’s to decide what they’re going to do with Eren.”

The three trainees exchanged anxious looks. Armin and Mikasa were not the only ones who were confused by the recent event and certainly not alone in their eagerness to see Eren again. Though some had become a bit weary of their comrade because of his transformation, most had not forgotten his sacrifice and the skills which he had put to use more than once to pull them forward. Perhaps unwittingly, Eren changed people, Mikasa thought, gazing past Connie at the lone figure of a blonde girl. Whether it was the cold-blooded Annie or the disinterested Ymir, he made people who were usually loners rely on him. Even the prideful Jean would grudgingly admit to looking up to the boy. That was just the kind of person Eren was.

 _And we might lose that person_ , thought the girl, helplessly looking up at the fake sky overhead.

* * *

 

To say Levi had greeted the news coldly would be a gross understatement. Ever since the message had reached them that they were summoned to the Commander’s office the following day, the dark haired man had been muttering darkly under his breath about ‘fucking blondes’ and ‘bleeding Erwin dry’. Eren greeted all of it with a smile that most certainly qualified as creepy. This impression only amplifying when Levi started plotting Erwin’s demise through numerous and extremely painful ways. They had made Petra and her comrades pale and shiver more than once during the evening after they had received the letter of summons. Eren almost felt sorry for them. The poor people weren’t at fault after all, and they weren’t used to his and Levi’s way to deal with frustration. Yet, anyway.

He glanced at the short male still grumbling darkly as they dragged themselves to the Commander’s office with all the ill will they could muster. More Levi than himself actually. Not to say that he was looking forward to seeing Erwin again – he hadn’t forgotten his deep animosity for the man who had taken Levi away from him – but he had been expecting it and so he had had time to get used to the idea. He was sure that, at least in some measure, Levi had been expecting the meeting as well. Probably the real reason why he was so angry was because he didn’t know what would come out of it. They could not put aside the possibility that Erwin would turn his back on them. If that was to happen…their reunion would have been short.

“Ereeeeen! Leviiiiiii!”

The boy’s thoughts were interrupted by the obnoxious yell and he lifted his gaze to look at the brown-haired woman waving her arms in an exaggerated manner at them.

“Good morning Hanji.” he greeted with a smile.

“Shut the fuck up Shitty Glasses.” Levi said almost simultaneously glaring darkly at the excitable scientist.

The woman gave a girlish giggle and went to throw her arm over Eren’s shoulders dragging him towards a moustached man the boy remembered seeing that famous day. He was the one who had been restraining Levi. Instantly the boy’s expression morphed to one of deep contempt.

“Eren this is Mike, Mike this is Eren, he’s Levi’s….”

“Yes, we’ve met.” interrupted the man bending towards Eren to sniff him. “Our first meeting wasn’t under the best circumstances, but I hope we’ll be able to get along all the same.”

Eren looked him over suspiciously. Apart from their first meeting and that strange sniffing thing, he looked decent enough he supposed…

“He’s better than Hanji at least.” commented Levi as if reading his companion’s mind.

“Hey!” yelled the scientist in protest, launching on the shorter male to complain loudly to him.

Eren and Mike were left to watch the yelling duo in amusement. The peaceful moment was broken however by the door to Erwin’s office opening and the blonde man stepping out in the corridor.

“I see you’ve all gathered.” commented the man calmly. “Let us step inside.”


	42. To Fly or Fall - Part 2

The five soldiers had entered the office and taken place on sofas and armchairs arranged in a half-circle around a low table which looked like it had survived a war. They were now busy staring silently at each other. Well, not really. Hanji was going on about her most recent discovery on the ecology of Titans which no one cared about. The atmosphere was such that her energetic monologue was nothing more than background noise for the four others. Eren’s hard golden gaze was firmly planted in Erwin’s placid blue. It was a contest of will that spoke of years of animosity on one side and an unwillingness to submit to the raging fire on the other. Sitting on the sofa next to Eren, Levi was toying with a knife which glinted coldly in the dim light. From time to time his silver eyes would flash heinously in the Commander’s direction before going back to resting on the weapon his long fingers were fiddling with. Mike was the only one who was at least pretending to pay attention to what Hanji was saying. He was looking at her with a complacent smile as if completely impermeable to the room’s tense atmosphere. He looked for all the world as if Hanji’s experiments were the most interesting thing he had ever heard about. Nobody bought it of course.

Obliviously, Hanji rambled on.

When at last the manic woman paused to take a breath Erwin jumped on the occasion to cut the idle chatter short – though at that point idle chatter sounded like euphemism for psychological torture. He cleared his throat loudly, signalling that he was about to talk, and let the suspense float for a moment causing both Levi and Eren to roll their eyes at him in annoyance. Levi was just about to tell him to ‘ _get this fucking thing started already Shitty Eyebrows’_ when the blonde man finally deigned to open his mouth.

“As you know, we have only given a brief outline of Eren’s situation to the Military Police.” he started, pausing as if to gauge the two childhood friends. “We have kept… _certain details_ to ourselves and we intended to keep it that way. For a while at least.”

He paused again and Eren took the opportunity to give Levi a glance. The knife was still twirling between his fingers and his jaw was clenched tightly. If looks could murder Erwin would have already died several times. One did not need to be Eren Jaeger to know that Levi was out of patience.

“Of course that is not to say that we will do nothing.” the Commander continued as if he could not see the killing intent oozing from a certain corporal. “We are after all unclear on what exactly happened and we cannot risk endangering soldiers by letting Eren go unsupervised. Past events also lead me to believe that he represents a risk even as a human.”

There was a loud bang as Levi’s booted foot slammed in the table, adding to the poor thing’s injuries – most of which had probably been caused by the short male.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me Erwin!” Levi roared, knife held tightly in his hand, ready to use. “The deal was that you’d forget about that! Why do you think I agreed to come with you in the first place?!”

Hanjo oooohed softly, her eyes widening with excitement as she started looking from one to another with a look of pure curiosity.

Eren gritted his teeth. He could barely believe his own ears. Part of the deal? So he had been one of the reasons why Levi had left. What the fuck? Who did _Levi_ think he was kidding? He did not need to be fucking protected like some damn child!

“Of course.” Erwin answered calmly. “Which is why I did not take that into account when taking my decision.”

Eren glanced at his partner in crime once more. The man was positively fuming. Which was not that surprising all things considered. Erwin was basically telling them that he had dirt on them he could use at any given moment. If he was to say that Eren had attempted to murder him when he was a child, the teenager would be executed in a matter of moments. And Erwin was rubbing it in, showing them that he had the upper hand. _He_ was the one with joker card, not them.

“Watch it Eyebrows.” Levi growled with a snarl. “I don’t think humanity could survive the loss of its _beloved_ Commander and of its strongest soldier all at once. Don’t you think?”

The two stared at each other for a long moment before Erwin moved his gaze away.

“It would be most unfortunate of course.” he answered as if talking about catching a cold.

Levi muttered profanities under his breath and plopped back on the sofa, glaring and scowling at the blonde.

“Now, it has been decided that Eren would remain under your supervision for the time being Levi.” the blond said. “However, if he is to demonstrate any sort of aggressive behaviour towards any member of the Corp he will be imprisoned immediately and given a trial.”

“Oh shoot!” exclaimed Eren cheerfully. “There goes my plan to murder the Commander!”

“It’s alright.” Levi told him smoothly. “He did say members of the Corp, so you and I are free to go kill a couple of MPs.”

A snort escaped Mike which earned him an unimpressed look from the Commander.

“By a couple, you mean a couple dozen, don’t you?” shot back Eren in the same tone.

“Obviously.”

Hanji laughed obnoxiously at that, causing the others to fall silent by default. At some point, Eren’s gaze met Erwin’s and the two stared at each other challengingly. _Bring it on_ , Eren thought as he gazed into the pools of blue, _Levi and I are not going to lose against the likes of you_.


	43. Side Story 3 - The Heart of Steel

He had not always been this way. Every man started out as a child. And every child began life basking in innocence. He had not been an exception. He had even been happy once.

He had been born into a good family. He had a mother who was kind and beautiful and a father who worked as a teacher in the local school. Both were generous people and no child could have had a happier childhood than he had had. The only strike of bad luck in this picture perfect family life was that he had inherited his father’s curiosity and interest for history. In any other world that would not have posed a problem. It may even have been encouraged. But inside the Sisters there was knowledge that was forbidden. Anyone who cared to find out knew that the government held back information from the people. The circumstances around the pollution of the world were brushed over, barely explained at all. The existence of Titans never made its way inside a history book before the fall of Wall Maria. The truth behind their apparition had yet to be revealed.

Of course, as a child he had not known about Titans and neither had his father. But still, they could both see inconstancies in the records. They both wondered about the events that had been erased from history. The main difference between Erwin Smith and his father was that Erwin was too young to understand the danger his curiosity was leading him into.

He had learned his lesson the hard way. A stupid mistake, repeating a few words his father had told him in the privacy of their home one night, had led to the teacher’s death. That was the day Erwin stopped believing in authority. Power could not be trusted and he would do everything and anything to become the one in power, because if there was one person he could trust, it was himself. And so, the seed was planted and a heart of steel started growing in his chest.

His quest for power and truth had taken him to Military training. The training was harsh but he had never regretted his decision and he had never doubted his ability. He kept his heart cold and distant, his manners and smile amicable and never did he trust anyone other than himself.

He had only wavered once, for a split second, a fragment of a moment before he had forcibly squashed the hesitation and hardened his heart once more.

How this had come to be was still a bit of a mystery to him. It had started…Well, he supposed it had started with a beautiful young woman addressing him one day after he had bumped into her quite roughly:

“Dashing young soldiers aren’t exempted from watching where they’re going, you know?”

He had taken in the firm set of her shoulders, her eyes of a vivid blue that looked straight into his eyes without faltering, her gorgeous golden blonde hair sweeping the small of her back. In that moment, she had made his steel heartbeat.

He had honestly surprised himself by wooing her but the more he thought about it the more it made sense to him that she should be by his side. Katia Bartowski should be his and his alone, her chin thrust in the air staring him down with an intensity only she could muster, because she was not the sort of woman who would let a man walk all over her. He loved her. And she loved him.

He had bought her a ring of gold – the colour of commitment – and he had truly believed that he would one day call her his wife.

It had come to an abrupt end just after his training did. He had told her that evening that he wanted to join the Survey Corp and she had rejected it. He could see that every fibre of her body was against the idea of marrying a man who – in her own words – was doomed to die. The ultimatum was almost expected.

“War or me? You can’t have both Erwin.”

When he had left her in front of her parents’ house that night, tears streaming silently down her angelic face, a crack had appeared on his heart of steel. But he pretended he did not notice. His heart would not fail him. The sturdy metal could take any kind of damage. It was what he had believed.

Years later, when he had first met Levi, he had felt his dead heart shiver in excitement as the short teenager soared above his head with a grace he had never seen in any of his fellow soldiers. He had cornered him and forced him to join him. It was that day his heart of steel had remembered the feeling of fear. Never before, had he seen such pure hatred in a child. He had found himself pushed on his back with the cold blade of a knife pressing against his throat as he caught sight of an angry golden glare – the colour of commitment, he had thought absent-mindedly – out of the corner of his eye. The fear had lasted only a second for a moment later the small weight and the maddening, borderline insane, smile were gone and Levi was talking to the child. As he watched the heart-breaking exchange, jealousy seeped between the cracks of his heart of steel like poison.

And every time he witnessed the bond between Levi and Eren, mainly when Levi got that look on his face that said he was suffering from the separation, the poison seeped deeper and deeper inside his heart. He pretended he could not feel it, kept up the appearance of indifference. But it hurt.

When he told Levi that Oz had been destroyed, he felt a traitorous twinge of satisfaction. A part of him wanted the man to suffer, wanted this beautiful bond of love to rot away and become a twisted dark chain of regret binding him to the past as Erwin was bound to his. Another part of him was profoundly disgusted by this feeling and actively worked to bury it deep.

He had accompanied Levi to the remains of Oz, mainly because he felt guilty for having wished such pain on someone who was supposed to be his friend.

That day, the angelic face that was painfully burnt inside his memory appeared in front of him again. The corpse of his lost love lay half-crushed beneath a wall, the pale features twisted in a mask of fear and pain. He had watched Levi kneel next to her, ashen-faced and his body trembling slightly. When he had risen a moment later and made his way forward, it had been Erwin’s turn to kneel next to her. His glazed blue eyes had travelled over her face and along her arms, finally landing on her hand which was adorned with an engagement ring. His breath had stuck in his throat and he had delicately taken her cold hand into his, marvelling in the presence of this remnant of their passion on her delicate finger. Then, he had gently slipped it off her finger and placed it inside his pocket.

He had gotten up to his feet, but his eyes had not left her fallen form. The cracks in his heart widened and lengthened until it broke completely and he knew in that moment that his heart had never been made of steel. The heart of steel he had believed in had never been in his chest, it had always been in hers.


	44. To Fly or Fall - Part 3

“Typical Erwin!” Levi scoffed as they rode towards the training camp where the South division was based.

Eren chuckled knowingly. The Commander had announced the previous day that the both of them were to set out to assist Keith Shadis in finishing the training of the 104th trainee squad as it had been noted during the recruiting campaing that there was a great interest in the Corp. For once, as he had added with satisfaction. The biting ‘and cool your heads’ had made Levi grin like a man possessed. To be fair, the short man _had_ been absolutely atrocious in the past few days. He still was not over Erwin very nearly black-mailing them during that meeting a few days before. And he had made sure everybody felt how peeved he was with the matter. The number of soldiers traumatised by the snarky team captain had grown exponentially since and the Commander appeared to have finally decided that enough was enough.

Though, he really could not complain too much because as much as Levi had been holding nothing back, Eren had been pretty well behaved. It was not that the temptation to follow Levi in making their fellow soldiers’ lives miserable was not tempting, but he had taken pity on the innocent souls who suffered through Levi’s blatant abuse without even knowing what had brought it on. Eventually, he had just decided to sit back and enjoy the show. And he had to admit it was a pretty good one. He had not laughed so hard in a long time.

“Though, I bet it was Hanji’s idea.” the dark haired man added with an amused snort.

“Hanji?”

“Yeah. She had a shitty grin on when we left.”

Indeed she had, Eren reflected, recalling their departure. In fact, he was pretty sure he had seen her give Levi a thumbs up.

“I don’t even want to know what the fuck was going on in her batshit-crazy mind.” Levi muttered making Eren snicker.

“Well, we can’t complain, can we?” he remarked, his eyes lighting up with a dangerous glint. “It was high time we got some privacy.”

“Damn straight.”

“I don’t know if they actually think they’re being sneaky,” Eren went on. “But they’re worse at spying than Isabelle, and Isabelle _sucked_.”

“She _was_ pretty fucking clumsy.” Levi indulged.

Eren hummed in agreement.

“But really it’s ridiculous. I mean, I get they don’t trust us and everything but what do they imagine we’re going to do?”

Their eyes met briefly.

“Dunno.” Levi answered dully. “Not much to do really. ‘Cept for what we’re both thinking of right now.”

Despite his weariness, Eren found himself smiling. Leave it to Levi to know exactly what to say to bring his mood up.

“I take it you agree then?” he asked.

“That we need to find out what the fuck happened to you? Yeah we do.” the raven haired man agreed firmly. “And quickly. Being in the dark is _not_ going to work in our favour for this Eren. We need information.”

The boy nodded gravely.

“You know I think my father might have done something.” he said. “My memory around that time is a bit fuzzy. I…Well, I lost it for a bit after the Fall, but more than that I think there’s something I’m forgetting…And I keep getting this dream with Grisha bending over me with a needle…”

“Where is he now?”

“That’s the thing. If this really happened, it was the last time I saw him. He disappeared completely after that.” Eren sighed, shaking his head slowly.

Levi gave a grunt that could be translated as frustration and fell silent. Left alone with his thoughts, Eren started absent-mindedly fiddling with the key he was wearing as a pendant around his neck. He froze suddenly.

In a flash of movement which surprised Levi into looking his way, he pulled the key out from under his shirt.

“What?” Levi asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

“This, is the key to the basement of my house.” Eren explained.

“Basement.” echoed Levi slowly, as if tasting the word as he said it.

They shared a meaningful look. When he was a child, Eren had not truly realized this, but basements and underground rooms were illegal. He had never really known why, he did not think anyone really did, it just was.

“I was never allowed in there as a child.” Eren added with a meaningful undertone.

Levi’s metallic gaze flashed briefly.

“Looks like we know what we’ve got to do then.” was the only thing he said before he heeled his horse into a gallop.

Eren smirked with satisfaction and followed after Levi. They knew what their objective was, knowing how to get there was a problem they would have to tackle later on. Though, it might not be as complicated as it sounded. Eren was now an integral part of the Corp and they were certain to go on expeditions in the near future. For Levi and himself who had lived part of their lives sneaking around the cut-throat alleyways of Oz, giving the group the slip in order to investigate the Jaeger household would be easy.

But before that, he thought as the training camp’s wooden gates came in sight, was the time to face the people he had been lying to for so many years.

 _Bound to be fun_ , he thought sarcastically as his boots hit the ground and he made to follow Levi into the camp.


	45. Drifting Clouds - Part 1

At least, Eren looked like he was having fun. Levi had left him in the middle of the rest of the 104th trainee squad, most of whom looked torn between smothering him and hitting him. They had eventually settled for badgering with questions while regularly seeking contact with him in one way or another. It made for one odd situation. If it had been Levi, he would have already killed someone by now. Friends or not, being touched in all kinds of places by tons of people all at once was something he would not be able to handle. Eren, however, was handling it surprisingly well.

He was smiling cheerfully as he answered questions thrown his way, making eye contact with each trainee in turn and taking the time to return the friendly shoulder squeezes and one-arm hugs with some of the girls. He bumped fist with a tall burly blonde who laughed loudly and placed a hand on the shoulder of a ridiculously tall dark haired male in a gesture of comradery. He allowed a freckled girl with a ponytail to throw her arm around his shoulders and ruffled the hair of a grim-looking blonde whose expression softened the slightest bit with the boy’s show of affection. He insulted some boy with bicoloured hair loudly and laughed at a short bald kid’s joke. There were many more that were taken in the joyful reunion and all the while a small blond kid with a mushroom cut stood by his side looking positively radiant.

Levi watched all this from afar, reflecting on the fact that Eren was quite capable of smiling that much even when he was not around. He was not sure if he was just surprised by this revelation or a bit put out by it. Either was stupid really. Eren had always been the sociable type, it was no wonder he got along well with people he had spent months training with. Still, Levi thought as he detached himself from the wall he had been leaning on, he would admit to feeling a little left out. Eren had a life in which he did not belong, but that was not really the case for him, was it?

His reflections were abruptly interrupted by a girl coming to stand behind him. He turned around, his steel grey eyes guarded as he examined the trainee. She was Asian. That much he could tell by her unusual features and her silky black hair that fell down to her shoulders. But what caught his attention was the dark red scarf wrapped around her neck. Was that….?

“I’m Mikasa Ackerman.” the girl said in a soft monotone voice.

“Oh?” was all he allowed, an eyebrow raised in silent questioning.

He dully noted that she bore the same family name he did, but did not stop on the subject.

“And?” he enquired when she did not say anything else.

“I’m Eren’s sister. His _only_ family.”

 _So fuck off_ , was so clear in her silence that Levi could not help but snort derisively. His eyes glinted with malicious intent.

“Whatever the fuck you say, brat. But perhaps you might want to take a look at that scarf Eren gave you.” he drawled.

The flash of surprise on her face told him that he had hit the bullseye.

“There’ll be a name written on the edge.” he indicated, thrusting his chin towards the scarf.

Slowly, as if she was expecting some sort of trap to close on her, she checked the dark red wool. She eventually stopped on four letters of green string. He thought for a moment that she might start crying as she stared fixedly at the name ‘Levi’ embroidered on the scarf she had cherished since she had gotten it. Oh, it must hurt! To realize that her most beloved ‘brother’ had always been thinking of someone else, and especially someone she disliked.

“Looks like I’m not the one who needs to back off.” he commented snidely, taking a sick pleasure in seeing her expression crumple.

Her white fists clenched and she turned away quickly, briskly putting distance between the two of them. He watched her leave with twisted satisfaction. Her very existence irritated him. The fact that she was there at that precise moment was just another reminder that Eren had a whole life he did not know. They had been apart for seven years and a lot had happened. Of course, he did not very well expect the boy to stop living altogether while they were separated but at the same time he felt a new distance between them. In the end, they could not go back. Not to Oz, and not to how they were before. They had both changed too much, Eren even more so.

The child he had once known did not have those absent smiles which said half of him was somewhere far away. Before, Eren had not had those surges of killing intent, that amazing bloodlust that seemed to seep off him and chill the air around him. No, those were not things he remembered seeing in the child. But then again, Eren was no longer a child. He was fifteen, the age Levi had had when they had met.

“Did you say something to Mikasa?”

The sudden appearance of his partner in crime almost made him jump. He swung his head around so quickly that he would not have been surprised if he had hurt himself.

When the words of the boy who was looking at him with barely veiled amusement registered in his brain, he shot a glance at the Asian girl. The trainee was glaring daggers at him from where she stood with mushroom-boy. He glanced back at Eren who appeared very entertained by it. The corner of his lips quirked upwards.

“Maybe.” he answered simply, looking away from the boy.

“You did, didn’t you?” pressed the younger soldier, his voice ringing with supressed laughter. “She’s been muttering curses ever since she came back from talking to you.”

“Oh, you saw that?”

“When have I ever stopped looking at you?” asked Eren chuckling.

“Shitty Brat.” Levi scoffed but he was smiling and Eren’s laughter was ringing in his ears and this, he thought, was really all he needed.


	46. Drifting Clouds - Part 2

“Ah! I’m so bored! How long are we supposed to help with their training anyway?” Eren whined right after he bit the dust for the fifty-second time that afternoon.

He and Levi were still being kept at the training camp where the 104th was. To say that they were helping with their training would be an exaggeration. Although they had indeed offered their input in the training regimen and thrown some advice in the general direction of the trainees on the first day, they had been quick to neglect the teenagers in favour of their own training. Hand-to-hand combat was what had been occupying them since morning.

Despite the great progress Eren had made in the seven years they had not met, Levi still came out on top. He was currently winning by 201 to 187.

“You know Erwin wants us out of his hair while he makes his all important decisions.” Levi told him, not unkindly, poking the boy’s ribs with the tip of his boot.

The boy rolled away, pouting.

“I’m fed up with this.” he complained childishly.

Levi gazed down at his younger counterpart just as the half-lidded blue eyes looked up at him. Their gaze met. The raven haired man’s breath stuck in his throat for a moment. He knew Eren was not bad-looking. He had a toned skin which showed he had spent time outside and eyes of a rare beauty. His military training had also filled his body with just the right amount of muscle to look inconspicuous and yet still achieve the highest efficiency in combat. He was lean without being bony as hunger tended to make you.

Yes, Eren was handsome. But it was a common enough handsomeness that it did not justify the irrepressible _appeal_ that oozed from the boy’s pores. What made him so attractive was his charisma. It was his easy smile and laughing eyes, the way his gaze looked at you like you mattered. In Levi’s case it was genuine, but he was only one of the many butterfly that fluttered around the desirable honey that was Eren. His gut wrenched jealously at the thought. One of many perhaps, but surely he was the most important in Eren’s eyes?

The thought gave way to an irrepressible desire to touch him. He just looked so soft, so _kissable_ , lying there in the grass, not a single defence up, as if it was an invitation to…

Levi suddenly wrenched himself from his thoughts, the slightest bit disturbed by the fact that his eyes had been stuck on the boy’s plump lips for at least an entire minute. This feeling was strange and uncomfortable. He was not stupid. He knew lust when it was thrown at him, but he was thoroughly bothered by the fact that the one who awakened the feeling in him was Eren.

Eren was this child who had barged into his life like he owned it and made it so much brighter than it had ever been that Levi sometimes felt blinded. Eren was…A child right? Not anymore, really. But still, that did not change the fact that Eren was his…his what exactly? Friend? He had never felt that he was friends with Eren. He had been friends with Farlan, family with Isabelle and Katia, somehow Eren did not seem to fit in any of these categories.

He did not have much time to ponder on it further because a hand suddenly shot out of nowhere and pulled him to the ground. He fell on his back and immediately felt a weight holding him down. Eren’s head was resting on his stomach, in a way reminiscent of their younger days, his bodyweight making it impossible for Levi to sit up or move his legs.

“Get the fuck off!” Levi grunted.

“No.”

“Eren!”

Eren did not budge.

“I’m sleeping.”

“No, you are not fucking sleeping! Get off me right now!”

“Shhh!”

“Eren I swear to everything unholy in this world, if you don’t move this fucking instant, I will slay you!”

* * *

An hour later, light footsteps approached the sleeping pair. The intruder laid an undecipherable gaze on the two men. Eren had his hand fisted in the older man’s shirt and one of Levi’s arms had been casually thrown around the boy’s shoulder. They looked peaceful. Somehow, so much younger. The young woman smiled sadly. She unfolded the blanket she had been holding to her chest and threw it over the men. As she was tucking the blanket, making sure both of them were well covered so that they would not catch a cold – it was a warm day but one could never be too careful – the younger of the two turned a fraction.

She thought she had woken him as his eyes were open slightly and she opened her mouth to apologize but was stopped by the boy’s slurred speech.

“Thanks Farlan.” mumbled the boy before his eyelids dropped back down and his breathing evened again.

The young woman remained unmoving for a long moment, contemplating. She brushed a wayward strand of his hair before standing up again. With a last look at the two friends, she walked away.

In Eren’s dream a young man with sandy blond hair and pearl grey eyes smiled softly and murmured ‘you’re welcome’, threading his fingers in his hair tenderly before leaving him to his nap. And as a breeze brushed against his cheek, his lips stretched into a content smile.


	47. Drifting Clouds - Part 3

Days seemed to pass excessively slowly while they were stuck in the training camp. Eren was starting to be on edge. Especially since his best friend and his sister were making his instincts go haywire with paranoia with their increased sneaking around and lasting looks he could never quite interpret. He had no idea what was going on with them, but it was irritating him more and more by the day. Thankfully, Levi had managed to distract him from it most times but still, it was making him uneasy.

Especially now that Levi was not there to distract him from the burning gazes fixed on him from the other side of the room. The man had been there up until a few minutes ago when Christa had entered the mess hall and instantly approached them to tell them a messenger from Commander Smith was here with a message. The glare Levi had sent her upon hearing her message must have chilled her to the bone. The Corporal had marched out without a word leaving the girl trembling from head to toe in Eren’s kind reassurance that the man’s anger had not been directed at her.

Since then, the young boy had been left to his own devices, Christa having joined Ymir at a nearby table. He was busying himself toying with a handsome knife he had nicked from Levi during dinner, but the looks exchanged by Armin and Mikasa as well as those sent his way were putting him on edge.

It was practically a relief when the two of them got to their feet and started making their way towards his table. He looked up in time to see them stop next to it.

“Mind if we sit?” Armin asked clearing his throat in a way that almost sounded embarrassed.

“Course not.” Eren answered, motioning for them to take seats.

They sat. An awkward silence fell upon the three of them. Mostly it was awkward because Eren was clearly waiting for them to start talking while the both of them visibly did not want to start speaking first. This lasted a while after which Eren finally got fed up.

“You had something to tell me?” he prompted a little bit impatiently.

This caused an immediate fluster on the other side of the table. Mikasa reddened and started toying on her scarf while Armin practically choked on air.

“Oh well…” the blonde gasped. “I-It’s just…”

At that point he gave Mikasa a desperate look. The girl caught it, hesitated a moment longer and finally seemed to make up her mind. Her expression firm she turned towards Eren.

“Who’s Farlan?”

It was Eren’s turn to choke on air. A sudden presentiment made him look up, only for his eyes to find Levi frozen halfway to the table. With a stony expression he turned on the spot and made his way out again. Having followed Eren’s gaze Armin and Mikasa watched their superior leave a bit surprised before turning to stare at Eren’s ashen face.

“E-Er…Was that…a bad thing to ask?” Armin ventured uncertainly.

Eren dropped his gaze to his hands which were trembling slightly. He clenched them tightly. He could not show such weakness in a room with so many people. Especially, when all of their eyes were fixed on him. He gulped silently and moistened his suddenly dry lips before speaking.

“Where did you hear that name?” he questioned quietly, his voice carrying in the silent rom like a whisper.

There was a second of silence in which he presumed the two culprits were exchanging yet another look. He felt anger stirring in him like a blood red snake.

“Where. Did You. Hear. That name?” he hissed staring at them with angry golden eyes.

They jumped back slightly as if feeling the pressure of his sudden irritation.

“You’re the one who said it.” Mikasa said in a rush. “When I brought a blanket to cover the both of you the other day, you were half-asleep and you said ‘thank you Farlan’.”

The hot rage died away as quickly as it had burst to life. Eren’s shoulders sagged and he sighed warily, burying his face in his hands. After that, he got to his feet. He stood with his hands on the table, face bent downwards, hiding his expression from view.

“Don’t ever mention that name again.” he said quietly and moved away, clearly intending to leave.

He made it to the door before they reacted. It was Mikasa who stopped him. Of course.

“Wait Eren!” she shouted, stopping him in his tracks. “Stop running away! We’re trying to learn about you, about what we don’t know. It would help if you did your part and let us in! We can’t do everything alone, some has to come from you.”

The silence hung eerily for a long moment. All the trainees were watching the scene with bated breath.

“Farlan.” Eren started at last, his voice hard and alien. “Farlan was Levi’s best friend and something of an elder brother to me. There was Isabel and Katia as well, our sisters. And Grandma Arabelle and Grandpa Tom. And countless others I interacted with every day. People who were family to me and Levi.”

He turned an icy gaze to them.

“People who all died.” he finished.

He swung the door open and without another glance threw cold parting words over his shoulder:

“Now you know. I hope your curiosity is duly satisfied.”

He shut the door behind him, refusing to look at any of those people who felt it was their right to pry open his deepest wounds to satisfy their own greed. He grit his teeth and fisted his shirt over his heart. It hurt so damn much. Why did they have to remind him of it? He swallowed back a wave of tears that threatened to fall and started walking into the darkness.

He did not go to find Levi. Isabel and Farlan, as well as all the other inhabitants of Oz were still a ravine between them. One they had yet to close. Right now, he did not want to see the pain in Levi’s eyes. His own was already too much to bear.


	48. Drifting Clouds - Part 4

They left the following morning. Eren did not allow his childhood friends to fill his ears with hollow apologies as their pitying gazes told him they wanted to do. He said his goodbyes with a smile though it was distant, and left without turning back. The ride was mostly silent. Levi had barely spoken to him since, the only time he had initiated a conversation being to inform him they would leave in the morning as per Erwin’s orders.

He had been cold and unapproachable then, as he was while they galloped towards the old Survey Corp’s headquarters. Erwin had written that Team Levi with the addition of Eren would stay in the castle for the duration of the Corp’s stay inside the Walls. It was all Eren had managed to learn from the tight-lipped distant man that had replaced Levi.

They got there around mid-morning and met up with the squad. After warm welcomes which were somewhat dampened by the sombre mood between the two childhood friends, Levi decreed the castle needed to be thoroughly cleaned before they could even consider living in it. They were to leave no stone in the building unturned in their quest for perfect cleanliness. Predictably, Eren was sent as far away from Levi as the castle would allow.

Well, he thought as he headed towards the Northern part of the castle, at least he would enjoy Petra’s company as he worked. That was not so bad.

He had never been as grateful for Petra’s tactful discretion before. The woman carefully evaded the subject of the Corporal all day long, never saying a word about the strained atmosphere between the man and Eren. By the time Levi deemed the castle acceptably cleaned, which was already past sunset, Eren was in a much lighter mood. The fact that he had been ordered to sleep locked in the basement did not even dent it. Truthfully, he had expected such conditions to his remaining alive, so he accepted with an easy shrug.

Although he was avoiding Eren, Levi could not hide his annoyance and irritation at the rules Erwin had set and it warmed the boy’s heart a little more.

At present, he had entered his new quarters, which consisted of a large cell with a wooden plank for a bed, and was sitting on the hard excuse for a resting place, adding some stuffing to a pillow with some straw. The echoing footsteps surprised him out his task and his first movement was to reach for a knife at his belt that was not there. He clicked his tongue irritably. He was starting to dislike these rules about non-official weapons. He calmed down slightly from reflecting that it was probably a member of the squad coming to check up on him. He need not be so on edge.

But it was not a member of the squad who entered the dungeon. It was Levi. He had gotten rid of his uniform, keeping only the tight trousers and the shirt. The man stood hesitantly in the doorway as his gaze met Eren’s but quickly regained his countenance. He closed the door and entered the room, placing the lamp he had been carrying on Eren’s bedside table before dropping next to the boy on the bed.

“Are you angry?” Levi asked almost softly after a long moment of silence.

Eren blinked.

“What?”

“Are you angry? Because I let Farlan and Isabel die.” Levi said, gaze fixed on his pale fingers.

Eren stared at him fixedly. It was strange to see Levi so…he would not call it weak but almost…vulnerable. It made him want to reach out and hug him. He didn’t though, because Levi wasn’t big on physical contact. He wasn’t about to ruin the moment by pushing Levi to smack him.

So he settled for a half-exasperated half-relieved sigh.

“I’m not angry.” he answered, smiling at the man. “I’ve no reason to be. I know their deaths hit you harder than anyone. So there’s no way I could hold anything against you.”

There was a pregnant pause.

“I-I won’t say it doesn’t hurt. Because it does. It really does.” a lump settled in his throat and he had to take in a shivering breath. “But I don’t blame you. I’d never blame you for something like that Levi.”

He looked up to see Levi staring at him with a strange look in his eyes. The tension evaporated all at once.

“What?” Eren asked feeling the beginning of a pout on his lips.

The man’s eyes dropped to his lips for a brief second before it was forcibly removed and stuck on an abstract point far from Eren’s face.

“Nothing.” he muttered.

“I don’t believe you.” Eren retorted without missing a beat. “What is it? Come on, tell me!”

“Shut up.” Levi grunted, shuffling away from him, still refusing to meet his eye.

Eren peered at him dubiously. He couldn’t really tell due to the low light in the basement but was that red he could see on Levi’s cheeks? The thought left him very unconvinced. He had never, ever seen Levi blush before. Unconsciously, he had even classified it amongst those ‘completely impossible and utterly unthinkable’ things. His doubts grew even more as a second later, Levi was once more as cool as a cucumber, no reddish tint visible on his cheeks at all.

 _Probably dreamt it_ , thought Eren, looking away from the man and back to his pillow, completely missing the burning gaze the man had turned on him once again.

_Well, at least, things have gone back to normal._


	49. World of Lies - Part 1

Days became weeks in such peaceful monotony that Eren was starting to feel unsettled. His life had been many things but it had never been _peaceful_. And this made him glad, because this was _dull_. Sure, there had been training and the trainees finally choosing their affiliation – most having joined the Survey Corp – but still it was boring. So boring that he was almost grateful when Hanji roped him into visiting her ‘pet’ titans, Sawney and Bean.

It didn’t take a genius to know that the scientist was obsessively passionate about titans. She had complained more than once that she could not conduct any experiment on Eren – who was, according to her, by far the most interesting specimen she had ever seen. Although she had been allowed a few tests on him, the line had been drawn at Eren attempting to transform a second time. For one thing, Eren’s ability had been mostly kept a secret and it was preferable that the secrecy was not jeopardized by shifting attempts. For another thing, Levi had already made death-threats and Erwin appeared eager not to encourage the smaller man’s murderous tendencies.

Due to this, Hanji has been unable to satisfy her overwhelming curiosity and to ease her frustrations Eren had agreed to sit through torturous descriptions of her research. The latest ‘chat’ they’d had had led to him accepting her invitation to meet her research subjects.

Sawney and Bean were a four-meter and a seven-meter class titans respectively and both had been captured during the retaking of Trost. There was surely a lot more Hanji had told him about them, but Eren had stopped listening quite a while ago, only maintaining the appearance of rapt attention while they walked towards the place where the Titans were being kept.

“Oh! You’re going to love them!” Hanji exclaimed suddenly clapping her hands like an excited child.

Eren smiled, wisely keeping his doubts on the matter to himself.

Moblit – Hanji’s second-in-command and unofficial baby-sitter – chose that moment to come charging towards them with a panicked expression.

“Squad Leader!” he yelled as he slowed down upon reaching them. “The titans…They’ve been killed!”

“WHAT?!” Hanji screeched, her excitement vanishing instantly.

She did not wait for any further explanation and took off in a run, leaving the two men to hurry after her. Grief gave the woman wings apparently and she quickly outran them. Eren could have caught up with her but he decided against it, preferring to run alongside Moblit who was visibly struggling to keep up already.

By the time they made it to the titans their corpses were already mostly gone into smoke. Hanji had dropped to her knees in front of one of them and was bawling, all the while angrily demanding an explanation.

Eren hung back while Moblit expertly managed his superior’s tantrum. He couldn’t say he was particularly sad for the titans, but Hanji’s sadness did resonate in him. Anger at the people who had caused the scientist, whom he had come to regard as a friend, such sorrow. More than that, he understood this was not an innocent act. Someone had deliberately killed the creatures, which could only mean they intended to forcefully stop Hanji’s research. The question was why?

There was no answer to that question that he could think of.

“Eren.”

He turned, finding himself face to face with Levi’s frown.

His raven haired childhood friend was accompanied by Erwin Smith, who Eren greeted with a stiff nod. He gave Mike Zacharius – who was hovering behind the other two – a much warmer greeting, which the man returned with a friendly smile.

“What happened?” Levi questioned, a trace of urgency in his voice.

Eren smiled grimly.

“Hanji’s test subjects were killed.” he said before adding. “And we all know what that means.”

A pair of sharp gazes landed on him from the two taller men.

“What are you saying?” Mike sniffing at him as if trying to smell the answer.

Eren met Erwin’s scrutinizing gaze and smirked.

“Surely, you both realize that the culprit was human?” he said, a hint of mockery just barely audible. “Not only that, but that person had to have access to the titans. If you think about it, this place is under constant surveillance, no random stranger would have been able to get close to Sawney and Bean. ”

There was a flash of _something_ in Erwin’s blue eyes and Eren thought it almost looked like approval. It left him dubious. There was no love lost between him and the blonde Commander. He wouldn’t have thought the man approved of anything he did. _Maybe, I misread it_ , he reflected.

“Are you suggesting there is a traitor in the Corps?” Mike asked quietly, his brows pushed together in a concerned frown.

Eren’s gaze shifted to Mike. He exchanged a quick glance with Levi before he gave his answer.

“I’m not suggesting anything.” he told the man. “I’m _telling_ you there’s a traitor in the Survey Corp.”

He turned his body away from the stunned squad leader a fraction, his lips stretching into a poisonous smile as his eyes landed on Erwin Smith once more.

“I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes, Commander.” he practically purred, his gaze glinting with dark mischief.

To his satisfaction he saw the man’s jaw tense before he turned on his heels and marched off, Mike falling into step behind him.

His attention soon drifted to Levi, silent presence at his side. Silver eyes were fixed upon Hanji who was sobbing into Moblit’s shirt. The man looked contemplative. There was no anger that Eren could detect his expression only revealing deep thoughts. Eren felt a sudden unexplainable surge of fondness for the man. He smiled and closed his eyes, letting the cacophony of agitation around him lull him into a blissful state.  


	50. World of Lies - Part 2

Life had become busy. The Commander had many faults – in Eren’s opinion – but he wasn’t one to ignore a fair warning. Even from his biased anti-Smith position, Eren could admit the man had reacted fast to the discovery of a traitor’s presence in the Corps. Although he wasn’t privy to the investigation, the young Scout had witnessed the abrupt busyness that had replaced the boring monotony of the Survey Corp’s Headquarters. Levi himself had been put to use and was rarely around anymore. This also including his squad.

Eren was therefore left to his own devices, which mostly meant keeping Hanji company as a favour to Mike who had expressed his worry about the scientist. He didn’t dislike Mike so he had accepted with an unconcerned shrug. Sitting through the woman’s endless rambles on Titan anatomy wasn’t exactly his favourite thing to do but he wasn’t complaining. After all, it gave him the perfect opportunity to continue his research on Titans without anyone being the wisest.

Today, however, was slightly different. Hanji had been called to the capital for business – business which also involved Levi and the Commander – and Eren had been ordered to join the new recruits for training. He did so with moderate enthusiasm. He was glad to reunite with the people he had trained with in the 104th trainee squad but less so to see Mikasa and Armin.

He ended up mainly hanging out with Jean while mentally noting that Annie was the only member of the top ten who hadn’t joined the Survey Corp.

“Did Annie go to the Military Police?” he asked Jean.

The long-faced soldier nodded.

“Yeah, surprisingly.”

Eren frowned.

“Never thought she’d be the type…” he muttered to himself.

A thick arm was flung around his shoulders, causing his fingers to twitch, instinctively reaching for the knife hidden under his shirt.

“I for one am not surprised.” Reiner announced with a booming chuckle. “She’s always been lazy. She probably thought fighting Titans would be too much trouble.”

Eren glanced at the burly blond with hooded eyes.

“I guess that’s one way to see it.” he answered light-heartedly, his own voice sounding distant to his ears as thoughts whirled in his mind.

He was wary. He hoped Reiner wouldn’t take too much notice of the tenseness in his shoulders. He wouldn’t want the boy to know he was suspicious of him. Then again, he was suspicious of everyone lately. His mind was trying to connect dots he wasn’t even aware existed, attempting to unmask the traitor.

His suspicion had most naturally turned to the batch of new recruits. It was a little too coincidental that the titans had been killed just a few days after the recruits had arrived. If the traitor had been amongst them before, what would have stopped them from making a move when they had first gotten the titans some weeks ago? It made no sense to kill them now when the research had already been going on for a while. Assuming the culprit wanted to stop the Corps from finding out too much about titans it would have made more sense to forcefully stop it before it started.

This led him to suppose that their traitor was new. Which meant, he or she was amongst the people surrounding him at the present moment.

His gaze travelled upon the familiar faces, as nonchalantly as he could manage.

If he had to name the most suspicious, it would be Bertholdt, Reiner, Ymir and Christa. Berthold and Reiner because he felt something was off about those two. Reiner in particular made him uneasy. He couldn’t place it precisely, but there was _something_.

Ymir for her part, was as mysterious as it got. She never said a word about herself or her past, only sticking to Christa like glue. It was perhaps because of this that he considered her the least suspicious of the lot. The girl appeared to have only one interest in life: Christa. Of course, it might be just a front but Eren was tempted to think it as genuine.

Christa was by far the most suspicious. He was convinced the girl had something to hide. Whether she was the traitor or not, she was not someone Eren would readily trust. She was too fake, all her smiles were acts – poor acts if he had a say in it – and her eyes were too hollow for his liking.

To that list he would have added Annie. The blonde was much like Christa and Ymir in that she had cultivated the mystery surrounding her person. It was rare that she mingled with anyone and her fighting skills were no the abilities of a normal person.

Still, chances were the traitor was someone else entirely. No matter how one looked at it, at least three of the five he had listed were much too outwardly suspicious to successfully go undercover. If he went by someone who one wouldn’t immediately suspect but who had the brains to pull off something of the sort, then Armin came to mind. The small blond would definitely make an excellent traitor. Only thing was that Mikasa rarely left his side and he couldn’t the Asian girl involving herself with that kind of thing.

Sasha and Connie he did not suspect for one second. The both of them were much too honest and stupid to be able to carry out any sort of undercover mission.

For now, the only person in the group he would willingly trust no questions asked…Well, he glanced sideways at the boy standing by his side, that would be Jean. He didn’t get along so well with the boy on the best of days, but Eren respected his abilities and judgement. Jean was one of the few who would question Eren’s decisions before going along with them. Something Eren valued above all. Much like Eren himself, Jean had the ability to distrust people, even those closest to him.

Yes, if worse came to pass, Eren could rely on Jean.

He hummed softly as he continued observing the young soldiers. Now, just how was he going to unmask his target?


	51. World of Lies - Part 3

Eren’s investigation had not made any progress so far. For the most part, it was because he couldn’t find any way to unmask the culprit. He was painfully aware of the fact that he would need to at least have an inkling of the traitor’s identity before he could cook up a successful plan. The question was how he would get the clue that would put him on the right track.

He clenched his teeth and gripped the broom in his hands harder. Detective work really wasn’t his cup of tea. He certainly didn’t consider himself stupid, but intellectual work did not bring him the thrill of the hunt and the wild pride that came with a successful kill. The only thing it brought him was an unhealthy dose of frustration.

He wanted to kill something.

“Eren? Are you alright?” Petra asked, walking up to him, a worried frown marring her pale face.

“I’m fine.” Eren lied through his teeth, plastering a smile on his lips.

“Are you sure? You haven’t moved from that spot for a while.”

Eren blinked and looked at the broom that had stopped moving minutes ago.

“Just thinking. I’m looking into something for Levi but I’ve been at an impasse for a few days.” he told the woman, remaining purposefully evasive.

While it was true his ‘errand’ was ultimately for Levi’s sake, it hadn’t been explicitly given to him by the short man. Rather, from the start they had both been equally involved and had taken upon each other to investigate the matter. Eren’s collaboration had never been brought up, and yet, it had naturally been expected from both parties.

“Maybe you need a fresh point of view. Sometimes it helps to have someone else think about things with you.” Petra suggested, turning away to get back to her own tasks, although not before shooting him an encouraging smile.

Eren thanked her and mulled over the woman’s words. Certainly, it wouldn’t do any good to just keep thinking about the facts in a loop like he had been doing for the past few days. At the same time, he couldn’t confide in just anyone. Levi would be no help. If the man had had any new ideas, Eren would have been the first to know. Then, perhaps Jean…

The thought made him stop. It was not completely baseless. He had thought before that Jean was the most trustworthy of his old comrades. He was also smart and his ability to analyse situations was nothing to spit at. Jean had the qualities needed to be a good leader. He was capable of elaborating complex strategies and putting them into action successfully. If anyone could help him unmask a traitor, Jean would no doubt be the best choice.

Still, should he really involve one of the 104th? Certainly, they had all graduated from being trainees, but the fact remained that they were all children (he did not think he qualified as one himself).  Besides he suspected the culprit had been a member of the 104th. Traitor or not, would Jean be able to willingly compromise someone he may have thought of as a friend and a comrade?

He was so deep in thoughts that he completely missed Levi entering the room and approaching him.

“Eren.”

The low voice startled him out of his reflexions.

“Levi?” he spluttered, panicking at the idea that the Corporal had caught him slacking off. “I’m working.” he assured quickly, sweeping the floor frantically. “I was just um…taking a short break.”

The man’s eyes flashed with something between amusement and annoyance and he waved the matter away dismissively.

“I don’t care. We need to talk.”

Something in the man’s tone told Eren that the matter was important. He promptly abandoned his broom and followed the older man out of the dining room. They crossed path with Eld and Oruo but Levi barely acknowledged them. He arched single-mindedly towards an empty wing of the castle, guiding Eren to the privacy of a room and closing the door behind them.

“Do you remember telling me about your father?” Levi started without preamble.

“Hm? You mean how I think he injected me with something?”

“Yes. He gave you something then, didn’t he?”

Eren nodded and pulled out from under his shirt the chain on which he had attached the key.

“It’s the key to the basement in my house. I was never allowed there when I was a kid.” he explained, wondering what had prompted the sudden questions on the item.

“Eren.” Levi started, he spoke slowly and purposefully. “You might not know this, but basements are…”

“Illegal.” Eren completed, nodding. “Armin explained it to me when I first told him about my nightmares.”

He paused, thinking.

“Why do you think your father would have a basement, even though it’s illegal?” Levi pressed on, and Eren knew by the glint in his eyes that he already had a fair idea of the reason.

“Had something to hide I imagine.” Eren commented casually. “Don’t we all?” he asked sarcastically before becoming serious once again. “I don’t know much about my father. He wasn’t often at home and when he was, he always seemed a bit…off, I guess. When I was younger, he scared me. He had times when he seemed out of his mind. He was obsessed with making sure my mother and I were in good health. It was really freaky.”

Levi nodded.

“Well I don’t know if your father was in his right mind or not, but regardless, there’s probably something in that basement of his.”

“Something?” Eren echoed.

Levi’s lip set in a grim line.

“I think your father experimented with titans, or at least researched them.”

Eren let that sink in. It would make sense. The secrecy, the absences, the strange fluid he had been injected…

“We probably should investigate that basement, shouldn’t we?” Eren murmured at last.

His eyes met the steel grey of Levi’s gaze. Slowly, he grinned.

“Investigating a basement in the middle of a titan-infested zone?” he commented lightly. “Sounds fun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! It's been so long! I'd say I've been busy but that's really a minor part of it. Although, I guess by now most of my readers are used to how inconsistent I am so I will refrain from apologizing.
> 
> The Chronicles fever currently inhabits me so I feel like I could write the entire series in a few days, but of course there's no telling how long it's going to last. I'm not even sure I'll get another chapter written anytime soon x)
> 
> I hope you'll continue following the progress of this fic regardless and hang in there until the end!


	52. Face of Nightmares - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is becoming somewhat redundant but once again I apologize for the extremely long wait. ^^'
> 
> I'm sure you've all noticed by now but I've been fighting writer's block, real life, inner demons and all those other things we all have to deal with at some point of our lives for some time now. I don't now when I'll be back into the SNK fever, with an especially emphasis on the Chronicles but I can say that I now where I am going with this and have as of now no intention of dropping this story. So please bear with me a little longer!
> 
> I hope you will all enjoy this (short) chapter and that you will still deign leave a few words on your way out!

Eren and Levi’s project of taking a trip to Titan-country was almost immediately put on hold. Erwin had come back from a meeting with higher-ups and announced upon his return that they were being ordered to organize a new expedition in the next fortnight or they could say goodbye to all future funding.

So here they were, going off into the wilderness, barely prepared and their objective unclear. All because overweight greying men who spent their days sat in a chair complaining to each other about the world in general had decided the Survey Corp was useless unless it was outside the walls. Levi had offered to put his and Eren’s assassination skills to the service of the community but Erwin had respectfully declined. A shame really, thought Levi as he stopped his horse alongside Erwin’s, waiting for the Inner Gates to open.

It was a slow process and once they slid open, all horses were urged forward into the connecting zone, as fast as possible so that the Inner Gates could be closed again. The few times they had taken too long to complete the manoeuver, ignorant civilians had started panicking for fear of gas entering the city. Those were bad times for the Survey Corp.

Once they had all arranged themselves and their mounts inside the connecting zone, the Inner Gates were closed. This was the signal for all the soldiers who hadn’t done so yet to put on their masks. A few minutes after the Inner Gates had sealed shut, the Outer Gates opened. As the first ranks started moving, Levi glanced behind him catching Eren’s eye for a moment. Then, Erwin was calling to him and he was digging his heels into his horse’s flanks.

He didn’t know when things went wrong. Of course, his firm opinion was that things had taken a definite turn for the worse the moment they had been ordered out, but that wasn’t the type of things you wrote in a report. He decided the turning point had been the implementation of the new formation: small groups had left the main body of the Corps, equipped with coloured flares which they were to use in case of titan encounter.

Levi and his team, Eren included, had been sent to the front. Their job was easy enough: look out for titans, eliminate if possible, tell the company to change course if not. It had been going well, Levi supposed, until a red flare had come from the rear. And this was where his fault lied. Unaware of the nature of the danger that had arisen behind the column, Levi had decided to leave his team to Erd’s command and double-back himself to join Erwin.

While Petra, Oluo and Gunter hadn’t questioned this, both Erd and Eren had expressed doubts on the wisdom of the decision. Erd had relented quickly but Eren had insisted. He should come with Levi. It wasn’t right that he should go alone, what if he encountered titans on the way? Levi had shaken his head, his mind was made up: he would go alone.

This had been a mistake, he understood this now, as he galloped back to the forest where he had left his team. Reaching the trees, he shifted to using the 3DGM. He had met Erwin only to be told that a Female titan had appeared and that she was heading towards his team’s position. It was a deviant the commander had said, a very dangerous deviant, who knew to protect her nape when attacked.

Levi gritted his teeth as he flew between the tall trees. He should never have left his team behind. Should never have left _Eren_ behind. Again. Why had he? Eren had asked to come with him. Why had he refused? How could he have thought Eren would be safer alone?

The thoughts whirled and clashed in his mind which was growing increasingly agitated and anxious as he went deeper into the forest. He could only hope now that he would make it in time.

He saw the first body dangling from the branch of a tree and his hopes were crushed.


	53. Face of Nightmares - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reviews motivated me so here are two new chapters! They're short so I've decided to give you two for the price of one.
> 
> Thank you to my kind reviewers, reviews are the fuel of my motivation so don't ever stop writing sweet nothings to me ;)

Trust was so overrated. Eren had always known that of course. The only person he would consider trusting whole-heartedly was Levi and Levi was practically himself so he didn’t really count. Still, even he had trusted third parties before – mostly Jean – clearly this time it had been a mistake. The scene going on below him was proof of that.

It was hard to keep track of who was who in the flurry of movement. The oxygen masks that obscured the soldiers’ features didn’t make it any easier either. The same mask that had made it impossible to identify the person who had killed Gunter. Seeing only a soldier coming from the rear, the group hadn’t expected the attack. Well, to be fair, Eren and his continuous paranoia had sensed something was off. Even then, he hadn’t reacted and before he knew it their number had gone down by one. And soon after the unknown soldier had transformed into the Female Titan.

Personally, Eren had been all for transforming and taking on the opponent himself. It would have been a different story if Levi had been there but with Humanity’s Strongest soldier gone Eren doubted that they would be able to defeat this fearsome deviant. Despite the fact that his analytical mind had not once betrayed him, he had chosen to trust the team instead. Well, he could say with no remorse that this was the last time he trusted a feeble human being overestimating its own abilities. Those who had only ever known the world above apparently lacked in terms of survival instincts. Fighting titans for years clearly wasn’t a viable alternative.

Perched on a high branch, Eren gazed down at the scene of carnage. Petra had been kind he thought absent-mindedly. A gentle kindness that often reminded him of his mother. He hadn’t liked Oluo much but it was hard to hate a fool. Erd….well. They had never spoken much but he had a certain fondness for Levi’s second-in-command. Yet, in the space of a second, these people had been reduced to mangled corpses.

A waste really.

There was no particular sadness in this thought, only a peculiar detachment. Had he been expecting this after all? It was hard to tell. In the end, it mattered so little. It would not overwrite their deaths nor would it help Eren survive.

He lifted his thumb to his mouth and bit on it harshly.

They should have just let him do this from the start he thought as the world exploded around him, a burning heat pressing against his limbs and his mind reducing to pure killing intent.

He could tell instantly that something was wrong but was unable to identify the problem. It was like his body was attempting to reach a certain shape but lacked the final piece that would hold it all together. He raised his face and screamed in rage. He had no use for a half-shaped form! He needed something he could fight with. The body of a hunter!

His consciousness latched onto this idea. A hunter. The body of a hunter. Slowly his body morphed. He felt his body bend forward until his hands were touching the ground, until it was more natural to be on four legs than on two. He felt the muscles ripple and take shape, granting this new form the strength it needed to hunt its prey. He still lacked the decisive piece to make this form the ultimate hunter. He knew this at the back of his mind, yet could not truly explain what it was that he lacked.

He paid this little mind however. Even with half of his potential, he was a hunter and the prey was right in front of his eyes. His lips stretched into a grin, jaws parting as he raised his head in a scream that sounded like a howl.

The hunt had begun.


	54. Face of Nightmares - Part 3

Levi heard the scream and a few moments later the howl. The latter had made his heart miss a beat. What on Earth was going on? Had Eren transformed? His mind went back to that fateful day when Eren had emerged from the remnants of the hairy beast. While they had been calling Eren’s transformation a titan, it was true that it had little in common with any specimen they had ever encountered. Not even aberrants held any likeness to that beast-like form. Whereas regular titans looked like huge deformed humans, Eren’s form held animalistic characteristics like claws and fangs. Despite these it was bipedal, a fact that had driven Hanji almost mad as she tried to figure out Eren’s true nature.

In any case the scream he had heard was undoubtedly Eren’s. The howl was the real mystery and it wasn’t exactly the exciting type of mystery.

Grinding his teeth together underneath his mask, Levi cursed once more the distance that his team had managed to travel while he re-joined the main group. It made him appreciate how gifted with 3DGM his subordinates were. Or had been, he amended as he abruptly reached his goal, his eyes immediately finding the dead bodies of his comrades strewn over the ground. Petra, Oluo and Erd had joined Gunter in death. Eren for his part…

Paying no more mind to his fallen teammates, Levi followed the trail the two titans had made fighting. If the sounds of fighting and growls were anything to go by they were still close by. And indeed, it didn’t take him long to find them. He came upon them just as the Female Titan crashed into a tree. She did not lose a single moment in straightening herself and stopping the charge of her opponent by placing her hands on the beast’s shoulders.

While the two were engaged in their duel of strength, Levi observed wide-eyed what could only be Eren. It had little to do with his previous form. Although its body was indeed covered in coarse black hairs, and possessed both fangs and claws, it was far from looking incomplete. If Levi had to say, it looked like a wolf. Except it was at least ten meters tall and was undoubtedly titanic in nature. The protruding red veins running along its body and the flashes of white, most likely bone, made it certain that the creature was no normal beast.

Watching it fight its foe, its eyes flashing golden as Eren’s did when he was angry, Levi felt a twinge of _something_. It was like a pull, a strange urge to join this wolf. He couldn’t quite understand what this instinct of his was hoping to achieve. As he puzzled over the matter, perched in a tree, the Female Titan suddenly overpowered the wolf and started counter-attacking. The wolf was soon overwhelmed. Although he avoided blows skilfully, dancing around his opponent with a speed that was astonishing for an animal its size, it was obvious that it would have to remain on the defensive without being able to attack.

When the Female Titan landed a heavy punch that sent the wolf crashing into a tree, Levi jumped into action. Without really knowing what he was doing, he let himself fall onto the wolf’s back biting his hand as he did so. The result was instantaneous. A power he hadn’t even known he possessed blew out of him. It was an explosion of heat and pain. Every bone in his body seemed to melt as the skin was burned off his flesh. Just as his mind narrowed down to basic instincts, shutting out the more complicated thought processes, he felt the presence of another consciousness touch his own before connecting with him completely. A feeling of exhilaration was passed on to him, soon becoming his own as well. _Finally_! the other mind – which he knew belonged to the wolf – seemed to be saying.

They were no longer two beings, but one and the same. Their feelings and thoughts were in tune and when they moved it was together.

The last piece had finally connected. Their hunter was finally complete.


	55. Face of Nightmares - Part 4

When Levi had left them in a hurry to return to his teammates, Erwin had ordered the rest of them to follow so as to serve as reinforcements. If the last few flares that had been fired were to be trusted, whatever the danger was, it was heading towards Levi’s squad. From messengers that had come from various positions in the formation, they had gathered that an aberrant had appeared: a Female Titan. Hanji could barely repress her excitement. Just thinking about caused her to salivate, her lips quirked into a creepy fanatic smile. A giggle escaped her, attracting Erwin’s attention. The blonde man turned a wary gaze towards her.

“Hanji,” he started saying. “We don’t have time for…”

Whatever he was about to say was lost in the resounding thunder of a titan crashing out of the forest just a few meters away from them.

Its curved figure left no doubt as to its identity. The Female Titan was running towards them. Erwin shouted frantic orders to the soldiers around them which Hanji barely heard so enraptured she was by the appearance of the new aberrant. She had the same bared muscles and bony armour as the armoured titan, placing her without doubt in that special type of aberrant they had yet to name.

She swerved suddenly as she approached them, clearly not looking for conflict with them.

“She’s escaping?” Erwin sounded bemused.

 _Not from us_ , though Hanji. There was something strange going on with the Female Titan. Although a titan’s face never displayed any emotion other than those creepy smiles, the Female Titan’s eyes shone with an obvious terror. She was running away, that was for sure, but not from them. Something in that forest had terrified her enough to turn around and run, going so far as to forget her lust for human flesh. Whatever it was, it had to be dangerous.

Hanji was turning to her Commander to share her thoughts, fully intending to suggest they flee as well, but found herself gaping instead as a black shadow flashed past her eyes, jumping onto the escaping titan. The Female shrieked, her fear sounding almost human in that moment. Hanji found herself sympathizing with her. The sight before her eyes was certainly terrifying enough that she felt pity towards the Female Titan for being the creature’s prey.

It looked like a titan and yet entirely different. For one thing, it was hard to tell if it was one being or two. At first, Hanji had thought it was a titan riding a monstrous wolf but after further inspection she realized the rider did not have a lower body. It was like his legs had fused with the wolf’s back. The titan’s body truly began at the hips. The torso and face were normally shaped. Its skin was a bluish grey and, very much like the Female Titan, it had an armour of bone covering parts of its body. Then came its arms. If you could call them that. Even from a distance Hanji could tell that they were blades. Long blades that scraped the ground when the titan was atop the tall wolf.

“What is this?” Erwin asked next to her.

Hanji gulped.

“Well the wolf looks similar to Eren’s form. Like it finally took its real shape. The one atop well…They’re fused together, so it’s possible that there aren’t actually separate beings.” she adjusted her glasses, taking a deep breath. “Whatever it is, it looks like it was shaped specifically to hunt titans.”

No regular titan could match the speed and swiftness of the wolf and with the rider’s integrated weapons the creature would no trouble slicing through a titan’s weak spot. Not to mention it had not once paid attention to the large group of humans. Its focus was solely on the Female Titan.

“My God.” a soldier murmured faintly.

Hanji glanced at the pale man. She couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment. It was a really one-sided fight. No matter where the Female Titan tried to run, the wolf was swift in cutting off her route and she would then be attacked by the rider. If not for the fact that both her hands had been clasped on her nape since the beginning, she would have died a long time ago.

The Female Titan seemed to come to the same conclusion as she suddenly dropped to her knees. It took Hanji a moment to realize what was going on but then she noticed the titan’s legs hardening. The creature noticed too, with a snarl the wolf surged forward. But by the time the rider’s blades came into contact with the titan’s body it had already hardened completely, looking rather like the Female’s body had been trapped in ice.

While the soldiers regained their bearing still in shock at what had just happened, Hanji turned her gaze to the creature. Its body had started to release smoke in the same way titan bodies did when they disappeared. She was quick to recognize the two figures that emerged from the skeletons.


	56. Face of Nightmares - Part 5

The Hunter lost interest as soon as its prey was no longer in each. The Female Titan had succeeded in escaping the predator by trapping herself in ice but this very protection had become her coffin. Alive as she may be, she would be unable to move and would soon sink into a deep sleep she would most likely never awaken from. The Hunt was not a success but it was over.

As soon as the Hunter lost sight of its purpose the bond between wolf and rider than had previously seemed unbreakable snapped like a fragile string. The breaking of the connection came as a dizzying pain to Eren’s awakening consciousness. He felt his other half slipping away from him at the same time as his form started to crumble. It was time to return.

With his mind once again his own, the young soldier regained the ability to control his limbs and started to struggle against the flesh trapping his body. The struggle was greatly aided by the fact that the titan’s body was falling apart, finally allowing him to emerge from the nape of the great beast. With a few more pulls his hands came free.

As he started to push himself up to release his legs from the remains of the wolf, he felt two hands slip under his arms and lift him up. Ceasing his efforts to free himself, Eren looked up.

“Levi?” he asked surprised as he blinked up at his helper.

Although the man’s body was still steaming and his face was altered by dark burn marks that came in the aftermath of a titan transformation, it was impossible for Eren to mistake his identity.

“How is this…” he started, puzzled by the turn of event.

“We’ll talk later.” Levi interrupted quickly, pulling once more. “There’s no time for that now.”

That was when Eren noticed their surroundings. Soldiers were observing them, eyes wide in shock. Some of them, he could tell, were starting to regain their bearings, which meant things would soon become troublesome.

With a last combined effort, Eren’s legs emerged from the corpse of the wolf. Scanning the rows of their observers suspiciously, Eren noted that both Hanji and Erwin were there along with the soldiers assigned to them. Not only them, but various surviving soldiers who had been placed on outlying positions had re-joined the main body. With that many witnesses, hiding Eren’s unusual ability – as well as Levi’s – would be impossible. Eren gritted his teeth in frustration.

With a few discreet pats on his body he ascertained the state of his equipment. As expected both his oxygen mask and his 3DGM were lost. Glancing to the side, he noted that Levi was in the same situation. Well at least, considering they hadn’t dropped dead yet, it was fair to assume that they didn’t really need oxygen masks to survive outside the walls.

An idea was starting to form in his mind and he turned to look at his partner in crime wondering how to convey his thoughts without attracting unwanted attention. Luckily, as their eyes met it became clear to the teenager that they were on the same page and that for now they needed to bide their time.

So when Hanji and Erwin reached a conclusion to their whispered debate and the Commander gave orders to arrest the ‘titans’ neither Eren nor Levi moved a muscle.

“I’m sorry about this.” Erwin said, gazing at them sadly, as former comrades bound their hands behind their backs.

“Don’t bother.” Eren dismissed him coldly, unable to stop his intense dislike of the man from seeping into his words.

Levi remained silent, acting for all the world as if the Commander was air. The blonde man gave them a last sad glance before turning away and ordering his troops to move out.

They were to join the soldiers stationed on the edge of the forest. While Eren had been ignorant of the fact, his team having been cut off from communications, most of the soldiers on the edges of the formation had been ordered to standby in the trees so as to attract titans and stop from entering the forest. For an emergency plan it hadn’t been a bad decision and it explained why he and Levi’s team hadn’t encountered any titans aside from the Female Titan.

Seeing as none of 104th were around, Eren assumed they were all stationed with the forest team. Unless they had died, which all things considered was a real possibility. This mission outside the walls had really turned for the worse. In more ways than one.

But well, Eren reflected as the troops set off, maybe some good would come out of it.


	57. And so, the long night ends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, this first book of the Chronicles comes to an end! It was a long struggle but here we are!   
> The second book should be arriving soon and will be called Chronicles of the Exiled: Exodus, so keep an eye out for it. 
> 
> Thanks to all those who have followed this story and who have offered their support by reviewing and leaving kudos. The enthusiasm of readers has been invaluable to me and I hope you will continue encouraging me in the future!

After the core group had reunited with the rest of the Corps – or what remained of it – the Commander had set his sights on a nearby bunker which would serve as their campsite for the night. What hadn’t been mentioned at the time but was no doubt a key element in this choice was that the bunker came with its own dungeons: an ideal prison for the two titan-shifters.

It had been a few hours since Levi and Eren had been thrown into the damp cell and it wasn’t getting any more comfortable as time passed. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to wait until someone deigned come down, preferably with the keys. Their best bet was dinner. Titan-shifters as they may be, it stood to reason that they would be fed at some point. This meant on one hand that the door would be opened and that the ropes would be cut off in order to allow them to eat. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. Generally, two soldiers came: one with the keys and one with the food. Only one came inside. Somehow they would have to disable both in order to escape.

Eren sighed and rested his head on Levi’s shoulder.

“I wish they’d come soon.” he groaned.

Clearly he only had to ask because the door opened at that moment. To Eren’s surprise the soldier who came in was one he knew all too well.

“Jean, I’m surprised they sent you.”

The soldier had the decency to look embarrassed.

“Yeah, well, I had to pull some strings.” he mumbled vaguely, setting the tray he had been carrying on the bed.

“I don’t have much time,” he continued in a low voice as he approached Eren to untie him. “I hope you have a plan.”

“Treason is punishable by death.” Levi commented, observing the boy critically.

“I know.” Jean said looking hesitant. “But if I don’t do something those idiots will try on their own.”

“Those idiots?” Eren echoed with an amused smile.

“Sasha, Connie, Mikasa, Armin, and co.” Jean elaborated. “The usual gang.”

So they were all fine, Eren thought.

“Aside from Armin, none of them have brains so it would probably end up in a catastrophe.” Jean concluded, the last of the ropes falling to the ground at Levi’s feet.

“Can’t deny that.” Eren agreed, grabbing the knife from Jean’s hand. “Well, for now just cooperate.”

He placed the knife at the boy’s throat and guided him to the door. Jean was quick on the update and knocked at the door.

“I’m done.” he called out to the guard outside the door.

The sound of keys came and Eren hurriedly pulled Jean back while Levi took position next to the door. As soon as the door opened, Levi grabbed the man by his collar with his left hand and slammed his right elbow on the man’s neck. The guard dropped to the ground without having had the chance to make a sound.

“That takes care of that.” Eren murmured before knocking Jean out.

They silently took the green cloaks and put them on.

“Let’s go.” Levi whispered, sparing a single glance to Jean’s collapsed form.

The two made their way through the corridors quietly. The bunker was one of the Survey Corps usual campsite so Levi was familiar with its structure. Since it was entirely hermetic, it was ideal to protect oneself from the polluted air. They reached the storage area in no time and Levi silently pointed out the rooms they wanted to go in. They would grab weapons and food from there.

Thankfully the security was minimal and with the advantage of their underground upbringing it would be easy to overpower the soldiers in close quarters. Still, that required approaching them first which was why they had snagged the cloaks. With their hoods up they were able to walk towards the guards without alerting them to the danger they posed. By the time the men decided there was something off, they were already close enough to cover the remaining distance in a dash. They made quick work of the two guards before dragging them inside so as to not attract attention from anyone passing by.

They equipped themselves quickly, taking a set of 3DGM each and two small bags of food. As Levi had explained earlier, they only needed enough to survive on until they could reach another of the Survey Corps outpost. They would be free to take as much as they needed then. For now, it was more important to leave quickly and silently. If they were lucky, their disappearance wouldn’t be discovered for a few hours.

Stealing horses was much easier than it probably should have been. The guards stationed on the surface level were stationed in the security room near the blast doors leading outside which gave them no visibility whatsoever on the door to the stables. Levi rolled his eyes as the two partners in crime slipped inside the stables. Clearly he didn’t think much of their relaxed attitude.

“Do you know how to open the blast doors?” Eren asked, as he saddled a horse for himself.

“Yeah, all the high-ranking officers know the codes.” Levi confirmed. “I doubt they’ve had time to change the codes yet.”

Once they had readied their horses, Levi activated the opening of the doors and they hurried past the first door. While the inner door closed, they mounted their horses, readying themselves to ride out as soon as the outer door opened.

“Shall we go to the ocean like we promised?” Eren asked grinning.

Levi smirked.

“Might as well.”


	58. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello everyone!

As you may have noticed my month of rest between the first and the second volume has turned into half a year without news, and I would like to sincerely apologize for that. I've been putting off giving any news on this story for the simple reason that the only news I have to give is bad news, as I have decided to discontinue this series.

First I'd like to say, that I haven't taken this decision lightly. I tried very hard in the past six months to produce the beginning of the new volume and so far I have managed to write only one chapter. I genuinely believed that this series would continue until its intended end as I had quite a lot of plot points figured out right until volume three. Unfortunatey, I have since completely lost interest in the SNK fandom. I had been following the manga and the recent plot twist was a little too extreme, or different, for my taste, and I have been gradually losing the will to keep following the series. As a result I have my lost my taste for the fandom entirely. This in turn has been a huge block in trying to continue the Chronicles.

Therefore, rather than pushing myself to start a second volume and leave it hanging halfway, I would rather just end the adventure at the end of this first volume. This may be a result of my selfish desire of leaving the Chronicles as a good memory for me, but I will understand if I am resented for it.

I do feel very guilty about leaving all of you, who have faithfully followed this story since its beginnings, hanging like this. I am myself rather unsatisfied with how this turned out but unfortunately I cannot control my own motivation and inspiration. In the event that someone wished to pcik the series where I left it, i would be very happy to give them all the notes I had for future books.

I apologize for this unhappy outcome and I would like to thank all of you for following the Chronicles so far and giving them so much support!

Insanity


End file.
